


everything changes

by momentsintimex



Series: all of my wrongs they led me right to you [4]
Category: To All the Boys I've Loved Before Series - Jenny Han, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-03-09 05:39:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18910675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/momentsintimex/pseuds/momentsintimex
Summary: Ready to start their family together after getting married, Lara Jean and Peter get the surprise of their lives when trying for a baby.





	1. one.

**Author's Note:**

> title of this fic is from Everything Changes from Waitress (the musical) :)
> 
> (also i'm still horrendous at summaries for fics sorry about that!)

Lara Jean sits on the penny-tiled floor of Lucas and Mark’s New York apartment bathroom, fingers tapping against her knee and a constant wave of nausea overcoming her.

A timer counted down agonizingly slow on her phone on the floor beside her, three pregnancy tests hangs off the edge of the sink above her, and she can hear the chatter outside the bathroom door floating from down the hall.

Peter doesn’t know she’s doing this. She bought the pregnancy tests in a drugstore in Midtown that morning when they stopped in for snacks. He and Emmi went one way, Lara Jean went the other, snagging a pregnancy test along with Advil so Peter didn't question why she was in the medication aisle. The test had been hidden in the bottom of her purse for the last two days, a constant nagging in the back of her mind that she could be pregnant just 4 months after the wedding.

She had a feeling she could be pregnant a week before they left for their long weekend in the city. Her period was late, she woke up nauseous most mornings and found herself struggling through work because of headaches and the most exhaustion she ever remembers having (including college, where her finals weeks were spent drinking far too much coffee and getting far too little sleep holed up in the library studying).

She mentioned it in passing to Chris, who brushed her off. “You and Peter have only been trying for a month or two, right? It’s pretty rare it happens that quickly,” She’d said, and so Lara Jean believed her, pushing the thought out of her mind long enough to convince herself it was just stress that made all these symptoms happen.

But with Emmi and Peter at a dentist appointment and Lara Jean with a rare light workload afternoon, she checks out early and heads home to FaceTime her pregnant sister, Margot.

“I don’t know, Lara Jean. All your symptoms sound exactly like how I felt right before I found out I was pregnant with this little bean,” She says softly, popping a grape into her mouth. “Do you have any weird cravings or anything?”

Lara Jean shakes her head, sinking into the sofa. “Not yet, no. But don’t you think maybe it’d be too soon for it to show up on a test?”

Margot shrugs. “I don’t know. I mean, I guess it could be? But it doesn’t hurt to try, Lara Jean. Even for the next week or so,” She smiles. “Are you worried it’ll be positive? I thought you and Peter didn’t want to wait long for kids?”

“We _don’t_ ,” Lara Jean sighs. “But it’s only been like a month since we really started trying. You know, like, not preventing or whatever.” She feels her cheeks flush. “What if he thought we’d have more time before we had another kid? And he freaks out that it happened so fast.”

“I mean, he’s a lot of the reason why it happened so fast,” Margot shrugs. She pushes the laptop back, resting her hands on her bump. “Look, Lara Jean. You just have to take the tests and go from there. There’s no reason to freak out about it if you’re just late or it’s not real. But whatever happens, Peter will be happy. You can’t deny that.”

Lara Jean shrugs uncomfortably, nodding. “I guess so,” She nods, glancing at the time. “They’re going to be home soon, so I’m going to go! Thanks, Margot!”

She hangs up before Margot can reply, throwing her phone onto the cushion beside her and trying to will herself to go buy a test.

But she didn’t buy one before she left, which means she spent the entire flight fighting back nausea and resisting the urge to worry Peter about her possibly being pregnant. Which is how she finds herself sitting on Lucas’ bathroom floor, jumping when the timer on her phone pings and she scrambles to shut it off before someone else hears.

One deep breath. And then she reaches for the three tests sitting on the edge of the counter waiting to be read.

_Two lines._

_Positive sign._

_Pregnant._

She promptly turns to the toilet, throwing up the contents of her lunch into the bowl, fear washing over her.

She leans back against the edge of the tub, legs crammed up to her chest in the small bathroom as she catches her breath, staring at the three tests that are now lying on the floor.

_Pregnant_. There’s a tiny human growing in side of her. She’s going to be a mom to a child that she gives birth to, and not just Emmi.

They’re going to have two kids. Their apartment is going to feel smaller. _She’s going to give birth._

Her hands shake as she picks up the tests again, eyes flicking between them, trying to find a way to see if they were false positives or maybe she read them wrong or somehow they were faulty and she wasn’t really pregnant. But the one staring back at her with PREGNANT written in all capital letters was a glaring indication that this indeed was true, and that alone is enough to have her throwing up again.

She manages to compose herself, running her fingers through her hair and taking another deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut. It’s not sinking in and right now she thinks she could really do with a pep talk from Margot or reassurance from Kitty that this is all absolutely going to be fine, even if it feels insane right now.

She rolls the tests in toilet paper and shoves them back into the bottom of her purse, brushes her teeth with her finger in a lame attempt to get rid of the vomit taste that seems to linger, and then composes herself just enough to go back into the living room just in time to see Emmi pulling on her rain jacket.

“Mama! Mark is taking Daddy and me on an adventure!”

“There's a new cookie place a few blocks down? Mark said he’d take her, but she wants me to come,” Peter fills her in, smile bright as he slips back on his shoes.

“I’m going to stay here, we figured it’d give us some time alone to catch up,” Lucas says brightly, and so Lara Jean nods, kissing both Peter and Emmi goodbye as they walk out the front door.

“I’m pregnant,” Lara Jean blurts out the second the door latches, arms crossed insecurely over her chest. “Oh my god, I’m pregnant.”

“Wait, what?” Lucas asks, walking into the kitchen and filling a cup with water, handing it to Lara Jean. “What do you mean you’re pregnant? When did you find out? Does anyone else know?”

Lara Jean takes a gulp of water, ignoring Lucas’ shocked expression. “I just took the tests in your bathroom. I’ve thought I could be for the last week, but I was too scared to take a test so I never did. But then I bought tests at the drug store this morning and I took them all at once and they all said pregnant and they can’t all be wrong, right?”

A wave of nausea fills her as she forces herself to sit on the edge of the sofa, head in her hands. “Oh my god, I’m going to have a kid.”

“Hey, LJ,” Lucas sighs. She feels the sofa dip beside her, and then a hand spread across her back, rubbing slowly. “This isn’t a bad thing, right? I thought you and Peter talked about kids.”

“We _did_ ,” She sighs. She pulls her head from her hands, reaching for her water cup and taking another sip. “And we both agreed sooner rather than later. But Lucas, we got married less than four months ago. What if this is too soon and he freaks out and says that he thought we’d have more time or something?”

Lucas’ hand is firm on her back, and when Lara Jean finally does find the courage to look up at him he’s chewing on the corner of his lip, biting back a smile. “Lara Jean, if he said he wanted kids sooner rather than later, I think it’s safe to say he’s going to be excited about the fact that you’re pregnant.”

“It’s just a surprise," She admits quietly.

“Don’t think this baby could be more of a surprise to him than Emmi must’ve been.”

Lara Jean manages half a smile at that, shaking her head. “You’re right, I’m being ridiculous.”

“I didn’t say that,” Lucas argues, but he’s smiling as his hand squeezes her shoulder before folding them in his lap. “I just think that you’re freaking out because you didn’t think it would happen so quickly. You thought you’d have time to prepare. I have to think that’s normal.”

Lucas was speaking rationally. His voice was calm and even, and frankly, if Lara Jean couldn’t run to her sisters right now, it was nice to have someone like Lucas there to calm her down.

“Sorry I took pregnancy tests in your bathroom instead of being normal and doing it at home,” She smiles, sipping the last of her water.

“I’m honored you chose my dingy New York apartment to find out you were pregnant.”

Lara Jean shakes her head, looking around. “It has… there’s a lot of character,” She decides after a moment. Lucas’ apartment isn’t dingy by any means, but it’s small and cramped and there’s barely any kitchen, which annoys Lara Jean more than it should considering she’s not going to live there.

“You don’t have to lie, LJ,” Lucas laughs. He stands up, taking her cup to go and refill it while he grabs himself a soda. “Besides, we’re moving into a new place in a few months. Signed the lease last week. It has more space, a bigger bedroom and a little den we’re going to use as an office.” He pauses, sitting down beside her once more. “And a bigger kitchen. Counter space that will actually be useful.”

“Could you tell your lack of counter space and general tiny kitchen was driving me nuts?” She asks, managing a smile when Lucas laughs.

“Absolutely,” He nods. “I’ve known you for too long, Lara Jean.” He takes another sip of his water. “Also it drives me kind of nuts too. I mean, I’m not a pro like you, but I do like to have a good time in the kitchen.”

Lara Jean nods, sipping on her water and feeling her heart rate slow down, the realization that she’s pregnant slowly sinking in.

“So, how are you going to tell Peter?”

She promptly chokes on her sip of water, using the back of her hand sheepishly to wipe a dribble of water off her chin, and blushes furiously when Lucas claps her back. “Woah, Covey. I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I knew it was going to make you choke.”

She quickly shakes her head, sighing. “No, no, it’s fine,” She argues, but it’s definitely _not_ fine and now she’s worrying all over again, digging her phone from the pocket of her bag to grab her phone, opening her Pinterest app. “I guess I just never thought about how I’d tell him when the time came.”

“So you’re looking through Pinterest now?” He smirks, hiding his face behind his can. “Lara Jean, I don’t want to burst your bubble, but the bakery is two blocks away and they went at a prime time between lunch and dinner where it won’t be too crowded. I don’t think you have time to be looking through Pinterest trying to find the right way to do things before they get back.”

Lara Jean groans, dropping her phone into her lap and falling forward, head resting in her hands. “I can’t do this, Lucas.”

“You can,” He says immediately. It’s so firm and reassuring all at once and Lara Jean _knows_ she’s overreacting so she forces herself to sit up and take a deep breath, trying to remember what she learned in those yoga classes Chris dragged her to when they got back from the honeymoon after Nico got her into it.

“Look, however you decide to tell him it’ll be perfect. You don’t need to freak out.”

“I’m going to call Margot,” She announces, forcing herself up onto shaky legs. “Can I um…”

“Bedroom is right there,” He nods, pointing towards a door that was half shut. “I’ll tell them Margot called and you took it in the bedroom for some privacy.”

Relief washes over Lara Jean’s face, falling into Lucas’ arms for a hug. “Thank you,” She breathes, squeezing a little tighter to center herself.

“Hey, Lara Jean,” Lucas says softly, pulling Lara Jean back just far enough to look at him. “It’s all going to be fine. And for what it’s worth, you’re going to be an amazing mom. I mean, you already are.”

A smile tugs at the corners of Lara Jean’s lips as she nods, hugging him again. “You’re the best,” She mumbles, and then hastily she grabs her phone, walking into Lucas and Mark’s bedroom and dialing Margot’s number before Peter and Emmi are back.

“Lara Jean?” Margot’s voice fills the line. There’s chatter in the background, and then Lara Jean can hear a door open, and it goes quiet. “Is everything okay? Aren’t you guys in New York?”

“We are,” Lara Jean nods, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry, is this a bad time? I completely forgot it was Labor Day weekend and you’re probably at a barbecue or something.”

“It’s fine,” Margot says dismissively. “But you sound panicked. What’s going on? Did something happen?”

“I’m pregnant,” Lara Jean blurts out. She takes a deep breath, her leg shaking as she taps her fingers on her thigh. “In my brain that would’ve been a lot smoother.”

“Oh my god! Lara Jean!” Margot squeals, and Lara Jean can’t help but smile at her sister’s reaction. “How did Peter take it? Are you guys waiting to tell Emmi? Oh my god, Lara Jean! This is so exciting! We’re kind of pregnant at the same time!”

“You’re almost due,” Lara Jean points out weakly, shaking her head. “And I uh — Peter doesn’t know yet. I kind of just found out?”

“So I’m the first person you told?”

“No,” Lara Jean admits. she runs her fingers over her hair, sighing. “Lucas knows considering I took the tests in his bathroom. Peter and Emmi are at the bakery around the corner with Mark, so they’re not here right now.”

There’s a beat of silence, and then Margot says, “Okay, so you need to tell Peter. What are we thinking? Waiting until you go home or telling him tonight?”

Lara Jean takes a shaky breath. “I don’t know, Margot! I’m freaking out!” She finally says, and her heart is hammering and her stomach is churning again, and it’s like everything Lucas had just said to calm her down flew out the window. “We’ve barely been married, and yes we weren’t preventing things, but I’m pregnant! And it’s sooner than I thought it would be.”

“Woah, okay,” Margot says. She takes a deep breath. “So it’s going to take a minute to sink in. That’s understandable. But you have to tell Peter. He’s going to be excited.”

“You’re right,” Lara Jean mumbles. She can hear the front door open and close, tiny footsteps pad along the hardwood, and Emmi asking where she is. “I think maybe I’ll tell him tomorrow when we get home. Find a cute way to tell him on Pinterest or something and then figure it out when we’re back home.”

“I like that idea,” Margot says, and Lara Jean can practically hear her smile. “He’s going to be so excited, Lara Jean.”

“I know,” Lara Jean nods, but she isn’t entirely convinced and she says her goodbyes before Margot catches onto that and lectures her further.

Emmi perks up when she walks out of the bedroom, running over and taking Lara Jean’s hand. “We got you a sprinkle cookie! It’s not as good as yours, Mama, but it _is_ yummy,” She smiles, pointing towards the box on the coffee table. “Did Aunt Margot have the baby yet?”

Lara Jean forces a smile, ignores Lucas’ stare, and shakes her head. “No babe, not yet. Soon though,” She says, taking her cookie from the box and wedging herself into a spot on the sofa beside Peter. Emmi clambers up into her lap, leaning back against her chest as she takes a bite. “You’re right, these _are_ good,” She smiles, holding her cookie out for Emmi to take a bite.

She tries to interject herself in the conversation as much as she can. Peter squeezes her thigh, a normal occurrence for him. But Lara Jean sucks in a breath anyway, shifting Emmi on her lap and leaning her head onto Peter’s shoulder in a lame attempt to not give away the fact that she’s hiding the biggest secret she ever has from him.

She needs to tell him. And soon.

_______________________________

Their hotel room is on the 23rd floor of a hotel overlooking Central Park. It’s magical, straight out of a movie, and Lara Jean and Emmi had spent most nights sitting by the window watching the cars go by and the constant traffic never end. It’s their last night in the city, Emmi bribes them to stay up a little later and watch the people walk through the park and the sun set over the horizon, and Lara Jean finds herself holding Emmi and thinking about how this time next year there will be another baby she could be doing this with.

Emmi does eventually go to sleep, curled up in her bed with pillows surrounding her in a bout of paranoia on Peter’s part that she was somehow going to fall off the bed. Peter and Lara Jean turn on some lame Hallmark movie that Lara Jean usually sucks in, but she’s distracted by her own thoughts and packing their bags to go back home tomorrow that she only has half the plot and has more questions than answers.

“Hey, where is that Advil you bought this morning?” Peter asks, pulling her from her thoughts. “My head kind of hurts and we’re traveling tomorrow, so I figured I’d take something now just to be safe.”

It takes her a minute to register what he asks, folding another dress and placing it in her bag. “It’s in my purse. The drugstore bag,” She says, smiling when Peter kisses her cheek on the way to get her bag.

And then she realizes.  
The tests are in there. The three pregnancy tests that she had shoved in there in a moment of panic back at Lucas’. That she left in there because it was somewhere Peter wouldn’t find them and ruin the surprise she had yet to plan.

Until now.

“Lara Jean?” He says softly. She’s holding one of her t-shirts in her hand, frozen in time as the scene out the window blurs in her eyes. “Babe?” He tries again when she doesn’t answer.

She forces herself to turn around, eyes staring at the pregnancy tests in his hand. “I was going to tell you tomorrow, I swear,” She says quickly. She crosses her arms over her chest, sighing. “I was going to find a cute way to tell you and figure it out when we got home tomorrow. I wasn’t — this wasn’t going to be a secret for long.”

“How long have you known?” He questions, but his voice is more confused than upset, at least Lara Jean thinks.

“Since this afternoon. I found out at Lucas and Mark’s. Took the tests in the bathroom.”

Peter nods, eyes flicking between the pregnancy tests in his hand and his wife standing halfway across the room. “So you’re really pregnant?” He asks.

Lara Jean doesn’t miss the glimmer of hope in his eyes. The half smile edging it’s way onto his face. She nods quickly, taking a shaky step forward. “I’m pregnant,” She whispers, laughing quietly when Peter walks over, lifting her up and pressing a light kiss to her lips.

“You’re not mad?” She asks when he’s set her back down, smoothing out his old t-shirt she threw on when they got back to their place. “I mean, we’ve barely been trying and I’m already pregnant, and that’s a hell of a lot faster than either of us thought it would go.”

“Why would I be mad?” Peter laughs. He sets the tests back in her bag, grabbing her hand sanitizer. “We were _trying_ to get pregnant. We achieved our goal.”

“This fast?" She asks quietly, watching him as he uncaps the Advil and pours two out into his hand. “I just… I guess I thought I wouldn’t get pregnant that fast.”

Peter reaches for the water bottle sitting in front of the TV, washing the pills down and walking back over to his wife. “Hey, it’s okay. I mean, we’re more than ready for this, right? We’re doing great financially, and I specifically remember us getting a three bedroom apartment for this exact reason.”

Lara Jean takes a deep breath, feeling his hands firmly on her arms, and nods. “You’re right. We’re ready for this. _I’m_ ready for this. I guess it’s just going to take some getting used to.”

Peter smiles, hands resting on her waist as he leans forward and kisses the top of her head. “We’re going to have a baby. Together. Another kid,” He whispers.

Lara Jean nods, her head falling against his chest, arms wrapping around his torso. She can feel his lips against the top of her head, breath warm, and she doesn’t move.

They’re going to be parents.


	2. two.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lara Jean is not as secretive as she thinks, and they tell Emmi the good news

“Full disclosure, the second this appointment is over and everything is confirmed we need to tell our parents,” Peter says quickly, reaching for Lara Jean’s hand as they walked out of the bakery. “My mom is getting suspicious.”

“She’s getting suspicious because you teased that maybe I was already pregnant when she asked if we were trying,” Lara Jean points out, free hand holding onto the hem of her skirt so it didn’t fly up in the wind. “And besides, I want to tell her and my dad and Trina in person. Not over the phone, not over FaceTime or anything. In person, at their houses. Preferably at the same time, but I’ll live if we have to take turns.”

“Lara Jean —“

“And I _don’t_ want to tell them until I’m out of my first trimester. That way we know it’s safe. And we won’t be getting their hopes up or anything.”

“Your dad is literally an OBGYN,” Peter smirks, interlacing their fingers. Lara Jean narrows her eyes. “Okay, fine. You win,” He relents, sighing. “In person, after the first trimester.”

Lara Jean nods, tugging on Peter’s hand to get him to slow down as they weave through the normal city traffic.

The day after they arrived home from New York Lara Jean called her doctor, getting them an appointment for that Friday. It was an agonizing four days of waiting, Lara Jean almost spilled the beans to Chris on at least eight separate occasions, and the waves of nausea from being around sweets all day had been minimized, despite a rough few days.

Peter only slightly teased her about her praying to whichever god would listen to not give her an aversion to any sweets considering her job.

Peter requested a longer lunch break, stating that he had to take Emmi to the doctor and that was the only time they had with it being the beginning of the school year. His boss didn’t mind, gave him the extra hour, and when Peter arrived at the bakery he kept up the lie about getting Emmi from school for a doctors appointment.

“So you’re both taking her?” Chris asked, eyebrows raised as she leaned against the counter. “You were a single dad for five years. I think you know how to navigate a pediatricians office by now, Kavinsky.”

“I’m going to be her mom any day now, Chris,” Lara Jean swooped in, wiping her hands on her apron as she walked over to the sink. “I’d like to get used to her doctors office and procedures there so I can take her alone if I have to.”

Chris doesn’t look entirely convinced, eyeing the two of them before she nods. “Well, we have a special order that needs to be done by 10am tomorrow, so hurry back from this doctors appointment!”

Lara Jean nodded, saying a quick goodbye to her and everyone else working as she slipped out the door.

Her doctors office is pretty empty, save for the extremely pregnant woman off in one corner, and another woman with a newborn in the seats in the middle of the room. Peter sinks into a chair by the door while Lara Jean checks in, biting back a laugh when she turns around to find Peter flicking through an old People magazine.

“Did you know that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have six kids?” He asks quietly, tilting the magazine so Lara Jean can see the headline. “What if we had six kids one day? Our own little army of children, led by Emmi.”

“Please don’t joke about that,” She mumbles under her breath, attention shifting back to the forms the nurse had given her to fill out. “I’m barely ready for the one that’s probably inside of me, let alone four others.”

“You have to admit it though, Emmi would be a really good ringleader for five other kids though.”

Lara Jean bites back a smile, shrugging. “She would be,” She admits, concentrating on her forms.

She can hear Peter laugh beside her, flipping through the rest of the pages as Lara Jean took the forms back up to the nurse.

They’re finally called back and Lara Jean goes through a battery of tests, arriving back into the room with the nurse and given a gown to change into. “You don’t have to stay for all of this if you don't want to,” She mumbles, pulling off her shirt with ease and folding it on the chair beside Peter.

“Do you want me here?”

Lara Jean takes a deep breath, nodding quickly. “I don’t know why I’m so scared. It’s not the first time I’ve been here. I just —“

“It’s your first time being here when you may be pregnant.”

Lara Jean nods, pulling the gown on and climbing onto the table. “Exactly.”

Dr. Kane is as lovely as Lara Jean can ever remember her being. She asks Lara Jean a million questions that she answers with ease, fingers folded together and legs swinging off the edge of the table.

“Your tests did reveal that you are pregnant,” She smiles, setting down her clipboard and turning back to grab gloves to start the exam. Lara Jean feels her heart skip a beat, laying back and staring at the fluorescent lights above her until they blur. She glances at Peter, who’s watching with mild horror in between glances of staring at his phone, and she can’t help but bite back a smile.

Dr. Kane does her exam, smiling as she pulls off the gloves and turns back to face the computer as Lara Jean sits up. “Based on the information you gave me and your exam, I’d estimate that your due date will be around June 10.”

Lara Jean laughs, glancing back at Peter as he beams back.  
“Is that a shock to the two of you?” Dr. Kane smiles, writing something down on Lara Jean’s chart, a smile on her face.

“Our first wedding anniversary is June 12,” She says softly, her smile growing wider. “So it’s just kind of… ironic. I guess.”

“Well I’d say that’s a good date then,” She smiles, shifting her attention to Peter. “Are you excited to be a dad?”

Warmth spreads to Peter’s cheeks as he looks at her. “I’m uh, I’m actually already a dad,” He says softly. “I had a daughter just after college. She’s 7,” He replies quickly.

If Dr. Kane is caught off guard she doesn’t indicate it, instead just standing up from her chair and nodding. “You’re in for a whole new experience then. I’m sure your daughter will be excited about being a big sister.”

“She’s been begging for years,” Peter laughs, resting his phone in his lap. “She’s going to be over the moon that it’s finally happening.”

“Are we not doing an ultrasound today?” Lara Jean asks, looking between the two of them.

Dr. Kane shifts her attention back to Lara Jean, shaking her head. “You’re only about 7 weeks pregnant right now, there wouldn’t be much to see,” She says coolly. “When you’re back in a few weeks we’ll do an ultrasound, which will give us a chance to see your baby and get a more firm due date.”

Lara Jean masks her disappointment, nodding. She thanks Dr. Kane when she gives her a few papers about what to expect, what prenatal vitamins she should be taking, and a list of concerns that should be called about before her next visit. She shakes both of their hands, congratulates them once more, and then leaves the room with the promise to see her in a few weeks.

“So, it’s real,” Peter beams as Lara Jean hops off the table and reaches for her clothes beside Peter. “You okay?”

“Yeah, fine,” Lara Jean says quickly, but her words are clipped and Peter furrows his eyebrows, reaching for her arm. “Can I please change? Having a conversation with you while I’m naked isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

“It’s nothing I’ve never seen before,” Peter smirks.

“Yeah, but you’ve always been naked with me,” She argues, and Peter laughs, letting go of her arm so she can slide her clothes back on. “I guess I’m just disappointed we didn’t get to see or hear the baby today,” She says quietly after pulling on her shirt, running her fingers through her hair. “I got myself excited to at least have that so it would feel real.”

“Hey, just because we didn’t get to see the baby doesn’t mean it’s not real,” He says softly. She sighs, pulling her shoes back on and falling into Peter’s arms. “Besides, you’re growing a tiny human. It’s going to feel real soon.”

Lara Jean manages a nod, leaning up on her toes to kiss him quickly before she takes his hand so they can leave the office. They stop by, making another appointment for a few weeks where Lara Jean would be 12 weeks pregnant and almost out of her first trimester, and that alone makes her feel a little sick to the point where she makes Peter stop when they get outside so she can catch her breath.

“It’s going to be fine,” He murmurs against her forehead, fingers interlaced with her as he kisses her.

And so she nods, letting him take her hand and lead her through the streets of downtown, slowly making their way back to the bakery.

_______________________________

Lara Jean spends the afternoon at work masking the fact that she could curl up in Chris’ office and fall asleep and the morning sickness that is _definitely_ named wrong because it lasts all day and leaves her feeling like any food would make her vomit on the floors of her pristine bakery.

Chris watches her from afar for a while, and when Lara Jean yawns for the millionth time that afternoon she walks out, leaning against the table. “Want to come take a quick break? You look exhausted.”

Lara Jean nods immediately, washing her hands and placing the cake she’d been working on in the fridge, sliding into the chair in Chris’ office.

“Want some wine? It’s late enough in the day and we have some left over from that client meeting the other afternoon,” Chris asks, digging through her bottom drawer for two plastic wine glasses she bought at the dollar store and declared them her best purchase to date.

But Lara Jean shakes her head, leaning her head back. “I still have work to do.”

“That hasn’t stopped you before,” Chris counters. “It’s just half a glass. These dollar store glasses may have been a great purchase, but they don’t hold much.”

“Wine makes me tired. If I’m already like this, imagine me trying to finish the cake with wine in my system.”

“You’re pregnant.”

Lara Jean snaps her head up, eyes wide as she stares at her best friend. “What?”

Chris smirks, pouring herself a glass of wine and sitting down in her chair. “You’re pregnant,” She repeats, shrugging.

“Why do you think that?” Lara Jean was scrambling, brain moving at a million miles a minute. She felt like she was _really_ going to throw up now, glancing at the trash can next to Chris’ desk and contemplating if she should just grab it now or pray she makes it there in time.

“You’re exhausted all the time. You look like you’re on the verge of throwing up all day, and while I thought maybe in the beginning it could be a hangover, you two are parents. You wouldn’t be hungover that much.” Chris leans back, resting her feet on her desk. “It was pretty suspicious that you were taking Emmi with Peter. You’ve never been one to need to feel things out with him before you do something for Em. And now you’re refusing wine? Even when you’re tired, you don’t refuse wine.”

Lara Jean sighs, head in her hands. “We were going to my doctors appointment this afternoon,” She mumbles. She doesn’t look up, but she can hear Chris move her feet off the desk. “I’m 7 weeks. And we were going to wait until after my next appointment to tell everyone.”

“Holy shit, LJ,” Chris breathes. Lara Jean forces herself to look up, met with a beaming Chris. “You’re actually going to have a kid!”

Lara Jean nods, swallowing thickly and sinking further in her chair. “I am,” She says, the smallest of smiles appearing on her face. “But you can’t tell anyone yet.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” Chris promises. “Am I the first person to know?”

“You’re the first person to figure it out,” Lara Jean offers, shrugging. “I took the tests in New York. At Lucas’. And then I called Margot in a panic.”

“Classy. Taking it at Lucas’.”

“I couldn't wait anymore!” Lara Jean argued, laughing as she bites on a hangnail. “Kitty doesn’t even know yet.”

“I’m honored,” Chris smiles, hand over her heart. “You should get back to work. Unless you think you should go home.”

Lara Jean contemplates it, then shakes her head. “Going home would be suspicious. I’ll finish this cake off and see how I feel. It’ll be fine,” She promises.

Chris nods, standing up and hugging Lara Jean tightly. “I’m so happy for you, LJ.”

“Thanks,” Lara Jean whispers, holding onto the hug a little longer the normal. “I’m really happy too,” She finally admits, and for the first time since all this chaos started, she really believes it.

_______________________________

“Chris knows,” Lara Jean sighs, scooping out mac and cheese onto Emmi’s dinner plate.

“I thought we weren’t telling people until after your next appointment?”

“We’re not,” Lara Jean argues, handing Emmi’s plate to Peter so he can put some beef on it. “She figured it out. Said she had her suspicions, but then I refused a glass of wine when we took a break and that confirmed it. I couldn’t just lie to her.”

Peter laughs, shaking his head.

"What are you laughing about?” She asks, hitting his arm playfully.

It only makes Peter laugh harder, looking over at her as he cuts Emmi’s beef. “Nothing,” He argues, then looks back at his wife. “It’s just… it’s very Chris to catch on that you’re pregnant when you’re trying to be secretive about it. I just thought she’d catch on in a few weeks, not hours after the appointment.”

Lara Jean blushes, staring at Peter’s plate as she puts mac and cheese on it. “It is very her,” She agrees, carrying the plates over to the table as Peter calls for Emmi.

“We’re not telling Em until next appointment.”

“You don’t want to bring her?” Peter asks.

Lara Jean opens her mouth to say _no_ , absolutely not. Not until they know that baby is okay. But she stops herself, chewing on the corner of her lip.

Peter smiles, walking behind her and pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “Think about it. Either way I’ll support the decision,” He mumbles against her cheek, smiling at Emmi as she walks in and climbs into her chair.

They talk about Emmi’s day at school and her soccer games coming up that weekend, and Lara Jean more picks at her food than eats it, although it goes unnoticed. The whole dinner thing was off-putting, and so she promises herself that she’ll eat cereal once Emmi’s in bed and then says a prayer that the first trimester ends and brings back her appetite and energy and a whole lot more clarity on how the hell she’s going to birth a child and then be a mother to two kids.

_______________________________

“I was looking on Pinterest while you were getting her in bed on how to tell older kids you’re pregnant,” Lara Jean peers over the edge of her laptop, watching Peter fall onto the opposite side of the sofa. “A lot of these ideas are really cute.”

Three days before Lara Jean’s next appointment meant she was feeling more secure about beginning to think about telling people. She’s officially 11 weeks along, slowly but surely starting to feel better (nausea is definitely still there, but she doesn’t get exhausted after decorating four cakes and working on some cookies for the bakery), and there’s the tiniest of bumps when she stares at herself in the mirror in the morning.

“Hear me out on this,” Peter begins, reaching for his beer on the coffee table. “What if we just told her? No frills, no special occasion. Just straight up said, hey remember how bad you want to be a big sister? Now you get to!”

Lara Jean frowns, staring back at the Pinterest board she had just made full of ideas to help older siblings get used to being an older sibling. “I guess we could,” She says after a moment.

The couch dips beside her, and slowly Peter appears, kissing along her jaw and down her neck. “We can do whatever you want. I’m just saying, Em is going to be excited no matter how we tell her.”

Lara jean contemplates it for a moment, tilting her head as Peter bites and kisses her neck, a soft moan leaving her mouth. “We can just tell her,” She whispers, fingers hovering over the delete button of the newly formed Pinterest board.

Peter reaches his hand out, moving hers away. “Don’t delete it,” He breathes, moving back up to kiss the corner of her mouth. “We can decide in the morning.”

Lara Jean nods, pushing her laptop onto the sofa beside her, turning to face Peter as she kisses him softly. “No sex,” She mumbles against his lips.

Peter laughs softly, nodding and kissing her again. "Just making out,” He agrees, hands snaking up her shirt as he pulls her closer.

_______________________________

Lara Jean spends her Sunday morning at the bakery filling one order before checking out for the day, leaving the bakery in the capable hands of Aubrey, her new manager. She walks the long way home, stopping at another bakery for donuts for the three of them, and decides that Peter was right.

An extravagant way to tell Emmi she was going to be a big sister was over the top.

_Stopping to get donuts. Let’s tell Em when I’m home? That way she can come to the appointment on Friday._

Lara Jean shifts from foot to foot in the never-ending Sunday morning line for donuts, glancing at her phone when it vibrates in her hand.

_Are you sure? We can do one of those ideas you saw on Pinterest. And bringing her to the appointment can wait until after the next one when you’re sure you’re ready._

Lara Jean types out a reply, deletes it, and then types another one.

_I want her to be there. It’s a big appointment, right? And she’s been waiting for years for you to have another kid. I say we include her. I think things will be okay._

Peter sends back a thumbs up emoji and a kissing face emoji immediately, and Lara Jean bites back a smile and orders a box of donuts to bring home to her favorite people.

—

Emmi’s face and fingers are smeared with chocolate frosting and Peter visibly cringes, walking over to the paper towels to wet one to let her clean up. Lara Jean eats her glazed donut, sharing a glance with Peter and nodding because how else was she supposed to convey that they just need to say it before she throws up or chickens out?

“Em, what’s the one question you’ve always asked me? Ever since you were little, what’s the one thing you’ve asked for for your birthday or Christmas?” Peter asks, unable to stop himself from reaching for another paper towel to take to Emmi’s face.

Emmi grimaces, weakly pushing Peter away and staring at him. “If you can give me a sister,” She shrugs, reaching out for her milk. “But you always said that I have to wait.”

“Well, I can’t promise that it’s going to be a sister,” He smirks. He and Lara Jean lock eyes, and Lara Jean nods, begging him silently to get on with it. “But what if we told you Mama was going to have a baby?”

Emmi pauses for a moment, hands grasped around the hot pink plastic cup in her hands. She stares at Peter for a moment, then turns to look at Lara Jean. “Is he being serious, Mama?” She asks.

It’s enough to make both Peter and Lara Jean laugh, Lara Jean’s hand resting on Emmi’s back as she manages to compose herself. “He’s being serious, my love. I'm going to have a baby!”

For a moment Lara Jean thinks Emmi’s upset about the news. She doesn’t say anything, eyes flicking back and forth between she and Peter before a smile appears on her face and she leans forward, wrapping her arms around Lara Jean’s neck.

“I’m going to be a big sister!” She smiles, and for a moment Peter laughs and revels in their little family of three, his mind wandering to thoughts of how all of this is going to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so excited to post these chapters, and i'm so glad you guys are excited as well! 
> 
> thank you so so much for reading/commenting/leaving kudos :) you guys are seriously the best.
> 
> see you on saturday! 
> 
> <3 <3 <3


	3. three.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lara Jean, Peter and Emmi are in for more surprises, and they tell the family :)

Having a 7 year old keep a secret is a huge task. There’s been three instances where Peter can remember cutting Emmi off, changing the subject quickly and reminding her when they’re alone that no one can know yet.

First was at school pickup, where he watched Lila and Emmi play with Lila’s baby brother on the playground. Emmi started to say that she was going to have a sibling to play with soon, too, but Peter caught it, eyes wide as he called Emmi over mid-sentence to get ready to leave.

And then it happened at the store with Owen while they were looking for utensils for Owen’s new place, where they aimlessly walked through the aisles and Emmi was distracted by the rows of toys. “This is a toy for a baby, Daddy!” She said, turning back and holding up a baby piano. Owen raised his eyebrows, asked why she’d be asking, but Peter steered Emmi away and shrugged towards his brother.

“I don’t know. You know how she is with wanting a sibling,” He said, but Owen isn’t entirely convinced and he just stares at his brother, waiting for him to budge. Peter decidedly doesn’t, and when Emmi starts talking about the Disney princess placemat in the next aisle Owen finally relents.

The final instance happens on the eve of Lara Jean’s next doctors appointment when Emmi is on FaceTime with his mom. They’re talking about school and how this weekend they’re coming to visit for lunch, and Emmi starts talking about how they have a surprise for everyone. This time she realizes she’s said something she shouldn’t have, glancing above Peter’s phone to where he’s standing in the kitchen packing Emmi’s lunch for tomorrow.

“I was just kidding, Grandma,” Emmi beams, and Peter is both proud and a little worried that Emmi lied so easily. “We don’t really have a surprise. We’re just coming to see you and Grandpa Dan and Grandma Trina!”

His mom is quiet for a moment, and then as easily as ever she falls back into conversation, talking about how she got Emmi new sidewalk chalk she can try out on the driveway when she’s there.

So in short, both Peter and Lara Jean have never been more relieved that her doctors appointment is finally here. If only because it’ll save them from anymore near misses with spilling the secret that Emmi probably shouldn’t have been trusted with.

They’re crammed into the small exam room, Emmi sitting on Peter’s lap as they wait for Dr. Kane. “Is it going to hurt, Mama?” Emmi asks, and while her voice is a welcomed distraction in the room Lara Jean’s startled nonetheless, turning to face Emmi.

“It won’t hurt, no,” She replies with a smile, folding her hands on her lap. “In fact, I think we’re even going to get to see your sibling today.”

Emmi raises her eyebrows, smiling. “Will we know if it’s a brother or sister?”

Lara Jean hesitates, and then shakes her head. “No, not today,” She says, watching as Emmi’s smile falters slightly. “It’s a little bit too early. Maybe next appointment we’ll be able to see,” She offers, which seems to be enough for Emmi as she nods, leaning back against Peter’s chest.

Dr. Kane arrives, shaking all of their hands as she takes a seat. “I would’ve known this was your daughter,” She smiles, looking at Peter. “She looks just like you.”

Peter nods, introducing them quickly as he moves them closer to Lara Jean. “Are you excited to be a big sister?” Dr. Kane asks as she walks through her normal checks, smiling as Emmi’s face brightens and she nods.

“Daddy always said I had to wait,” She says softly.

“She’s been asking for years,” Peter blushes, smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Well, would you like to see your sibling?” She asks, standing up as Lara Jean lifts her shirt, watching the monitor carefully.

Emmi nods, leaning forward on Peter’s lap to get a better view. Lara Jean instinctively reaches out for Peter’s hand, chewing on her lip as Peter interlaces his hand with hers, giving it a gentle squeeze

And then the heartbeat fills the room, there’s a small figure that Lara Jean knows from Margot’s sonograms is the baby, and her eyes well with tears as she bites her lip. “Oh my god,” She whispers, turning her head so she can look at her husband.

“Everything sounds great, Lara Jean,” Dr. Kane smiles, moving the wand over Lara Jean’s belly and pausing again.

“Is that the baby?” Emmi asks, sliding off of Peter’s lap and standing closer to the bed, eyes fixed on the monitor.

Dr. Kane is silent for a moment, moving the wand again. “This right here is the baby we just looked at,” She says, pointing to the figure in the middle of the screen. Peter watches her face, noticing the concentration between her furrowed brows and the small smile tugging at her lips as she moves the wand again, looking for measurements. “And this… this is another baby.”

Lara Jean’s head snaps back towards the monitor, eyes wide. “What?”

Another heartbeat fills the room, and for as similar as it sounds to the first one they heard, Peter can hear the difference. “Oh my god,” He mumbles, fingers squeezing Lara Jean’s.

“Wait, what?” Lara Jean asks again, eyes going between Dr. Kane and Peter as she peers at the monitor again. “Sorry, you said there are two heartbeats?”

Dr. Kane is beaming now, taking a few photos and moving the wand back again. “Congratulations, you two. You’re having twins!”

Lara Jean’s free hand covers her mouth, and whatever tears she had managed to suppress are falling now, more from shock than anything else.

“Em,” Peter laughs, squeezing Emmi’s side with his hand. “Mom is having two babies!”

Emmi goes from confusion to a big smile, laughing as her hands rest on the exam table. “Really? There’s two babies?”

Lara Jean nods, breaking her hand away from Peter’s to smooth it over Emmi’s hair. “You’re getting to be a big sister to two babies at once, Em! Even more than you wanted!”

Emmi laughs, nodding as Dr. Kane excuses herself from the room, giving the family a minute alone.

Peter stands up, leaning down to kiss Lara Jean softly, forehead pressing to hers. “Twins,” He whispers, almost as if he can’t believe it himself.

Lara Jean can only nod quickly, swallowing roughly and wiping the makeup from under her eyes, burying her face into Peter’s button down. “We’re having two kids at once.”

Her hands are still shaking when they leave the exam room, making another appointment for a months time. The sonograms are in her bag, Emmi’s talking constantly abut how there’s going to be two babies now for her to help take care of, and Lara Jean just keeps telling herself that at some point it will sink in and she won’t feel like she’s going to throw up or pass out all at once.

“How are we supposed to tell our parents?” She asks when they’re back in the car, loosely braiding her hair. “We were only expecting to tell them we’re having one baby!”

Peter smiles, navigating his way out of the parking garage with ease, free hand resting on his wife’s thigh. “Then they’re getting a huge surprise tomorrow,” He says lightly, glancing at his wife when he stops at a light. “Look, we’re just as shocked about this as they’re going to be. And their reactions are going to be priceless.”

Lara Jean nods, swallowing roughly and leaning forward, digging through her bag to pull out the sonograms. She runs her fingers over the two photos, staring at the two babies in her stomach, trying to process it all.

“Still a little bit unbelievable, isn’t it?” Peter says when he notices what she’s looking at.

Lara Jean manages a nod, resting the sonograms in her lap. “Why are you oddly calm about this? Did you think we were going to have twins or something?”

“God, no. I did not think we were having twins.”

“You seem like… I don’t know. You just seem oddly at peace with all of this.”

Peter’s silent for a moment, chewing on the corner of his lip. “I guess we just have no other choice,” He finally says quietly, glancing back to Lara Jean. “It’s not like this is a false alarm or something. There’s going to be two kids. I’ve always been a go with the flow type of person, and I guess — I don’t know. I guess I just think I need to accept it now.”

Lara Jean nods. She opens her mouth to say that she thinks she can do that, but she stops herself. “It’s going to take me a little time,” She admits quietly, glancing back at the sonograms in her lap. “I’m not — I wasn’t even expecting to get pregnant this fast. And now there’s two kids?”

“I know,” Peter nods. He reaches out for her hand, squeezing gently. “I think after Em this just doesn’t come as a surprise to me. We planned this pregnancy. I think that’s maybe why I could just accept it,” He admits. He glances back in the rearview mirror, smiling as Emmi stares out the window. “I’m also not the one carrying twins.”

Lara Jean groans, the smallest of smiles tugging at her lips. “Shut up,” She mumbles, and before Peter can say anything else they’re both laughing, and suddenly Lara Jean feels more at ease than just a few minutes before.

“So this is probably a bad time to brag about how great I am that I got you pregnant with twins on the first try, right?”

_______________________________

“I would’ve come over with wine and those dumb romcoms you like, but well,” Chris gestures towards Lara Jean’s slightly growing bump as she walks in, hugging her quickly and hanging up her jacket. “Whatever is going on sounded urgent. Everything’s okay, right?”

Lara Jean nods quickly, walking back into the kitchen and pouring Chris a glass of wine. “Everything is okay,” She mumbles, reaching for an iced tea for herself. “More than okay, actually.”

“Then why did you need me to come over? Not that I don’t love being here, but Nico is coming over later and I want to look my best, you know?”

“Did you tell her?” Peter rounds the corner after putting Emmi to bed, surveying the situation. “Okay, clearly not.”

“Tell me what?” Chris asks. She looks between Peter and Lara Jean. “What the hell is going on?”

Lara Jean shares a glance with Peter, then turns back to face her best friend. “I’m having twins.”

“You’re joking,” Chris says immediately. Lara Jean can only manage a small shake of her head, smiling. “Lara Jean, what?”

“We found out today,” She says. Chris follows her into the living room, curling up on the opposite side of the sofa. “Can you believe it? Two babies at once?”

Chris smiles, shaking her head. “I feel like I should congratulate Peter on this,” She smirks, turning back to see Peter walking into the room.

“Thank you, Chris,” He smiles. “Lara Jean was _less_ than enthused that I was proud of myself for getting her pregnant with twins on the first try.”

Lara Jean groans, heat filling her cheeks as she leans her head back against the cushions. “Please don’t egg him on.”

Chris and Peter share a high five as Lara Jean grabs the sonograms from her bag, handing them to Lara Jean.

“This is insane, Lara Jean,” She mumbles, studying them. “I have to say, out of all the things I thought you were going to tell me, hearing that you were having twins was not one of them.”

Lara Jean nods, leaning back and taking a sip of her iced tea, watching her best friend process the news in the same way they had earlier that afternoon. “Emmi is the only other person that knows. We’re telling our parents tomorrow.”

“Your dad might pass out.”

“My mom is going to die,” Peter laughs.

Lara Jean suddenly doesn’t feel all that worried about the following day or how their families are going to react. When she thinks about how she’s growing two humans inside of her she no longer feels like she’s going to pass out or this overwhelming sense of worry she had just a few hours before.

She had faith that maybe soon enough she’d be as relaxed about all of this as Peter seems to be.

_______________________________

Lara Jean spends most of the hour car ride back home feeling like she’s going to lose her breakfast.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s really not all that different from the entire first trimester she’s spent with morning sickness, but there’s a distinct change to it, one that Lara Jean knows is from nerves more than anything else.

Peter’s been smiling since their alarm went off, dancing around the kitchen with Emmi to music while they made pancakes, and now he’s been playing a car game with Emmi as they navigate through the highway traffic, one hand resting in Lara Jean’s.

“It’s going to be fine, you know,” Peter mumbles when they pull off the highway. “They’re going to be excited.”

“No, I know,” Lara Jean nods. She takes a deep breath, leaning her head back against the seat. “It’s kind of just a habit now to be nervous.”

Peter smiles, squeezing her hand as he turns off the main road.

Lara Jean’s parents car is already in the driveway when they arrive, pulling up behind it. “Emmi, do not say anything about the babies until we do, got it?” Peter says, watching Emmi nod before she jumps out of the back of the car, running up the front walk of her grandmother’s house.

Lunch is more than fine. It’s nice having their families all in one place, but Lara Jean finds herself wishing Margot and Ravi were there hearing the news in person.

Emmi talks about her first few weeks at school, how she loves her new teacher and she’s learning so much more than she did the year before. She talks about New York, how they went to see a show and ran through the busy streets in the city and how they even have a park, and her enthusiasm is so infectious that by the time their all finished their lunch and their plates are clear they have smiles on their faces and are loving the time together just as much as Lara Jean was.

“When we go sit down out on the patio I need you to FaceTime Margot, okay?” Lara Jean says as they carry dishes back into the kitchen, Peter setting off to help his mom with the dishwasher.

Kitty furrows her eyebrows, setting the serving dish on the island. “Why?”

“Can you please just do it?” Lara Jean asks, but she’s a second away from snapping at her sister and so she stops, taking a deep breath. “I just… Peter and I have something to say and I don’t want Margot to feel left out.”

Kitty’s silent for a moment, eyes narrowing as she studies her sister. “If this thing you two have to say isn’t a baby I’m not interested," She sighs, sliding past Lara Jean to walk back to the table. “But I’ll FaceTime her anyway.”

Lara Jean nods, sending her a small thank you and carrying over the last of the dishes, moving to help Peter.

By the time they’re all crowded onto the patio the ball of nerves in Lara Jean’s stomach has at least doubled. She slots herself onto the sofa next to Peter and Emmi and takes Peter’s hand, squeezing it. He shares a glance with her, waits for her to nod, and then gently clears his throat to get everyone’s attention.

“As much as we wanted to just have a big lunch together to see everyone, we kind of asked it to happen because we have something to tell you guys,” Peter begins. He untangles his hand from Lara Jean’s, standing up and walking over to the box of cookies Lara Jean spent far too long on the night before after the bakery closed.

“Sorry you don’t get one, Go-Go,” Lara Jean smiles as she hands the cookies out upside down, Peter reminding them not to flip them over until he says. “I’ll keep yours and Ravi’s for when we come visit when you have the baby!”

“It’ll be the perfect treat after having this child in my stomach who’s the size of a toddler with weeks to go,” Margot smiles.

Lara Jean nods, handing Emmi their own cookie as she looks around at their family. “Okay, turn them over.”

Lara Jean forces herself to watch their reactions as they read their cookies. The ones for their parents say “Grandma” or “Grandpa” and the ones for Kitty and Owen say “Aunt” and “Uncle”.

“Lara Jean, are you really pregnant?” Her dad asks, breaking the silence as he looks up from his cookie.

Lara Jean manages a nod, smiling.

“Hey, Em, what does your cookie say?” Peter nudges, stepping in before the celebrations begin and their even bigger news gets lost in the shuffle.

Emmi looks between both of her parents and smiles, turning the cookie around and holding it out for everyone to read. “Mama is having two babies!”

“Shut. Up.” Kitty deadpans, dropping her cookie into her lap, almost losing the grip on her phone. “You’re having twins?!”

“Is Emmi joking?” Owen asks. “Like does she think you’re having twins but you’re not?”

“Lara Jean, you’re pregnant with twins?” Trina asks.

And then Lara Jean can’t stop her smile from growing, and she nods. “I’m really having twins,” She says, and it’s sinking in and she feels a million times better about all of this. “We’re due in June. Right around our anniversary, actually.”

It’s silent for a moment, and then everyone erupts in celebration, laughing as they hug both of them and ask a million questions, and of course Lara Jean answers them all with ease because they’re only concerned and excited for their grandchildren.

Trina asks Emmi how excited she is while Dr. Covey makes sure Lara Jean is taking all of her vitamins and Lara Jean answers with ease and promises him that she is and that everything is fine, and she doesn’t even have it in her heart to be annoyed with him because she’s _pregnant_ and everyone is just excited as she and Peter and it’s no longer a secret.

She takes Kitty’s phone from her to steal a moment away with her older sister, who’s crying and has her head leaned on Ravi’s shoulder. “I can’t believe you’re really having twins,” She says, wiping her eyes as she laughs. “I can’t wait until your hormones make you cry at everything.”

Lara Jean laughs, wiping under her own eyes. “It’s already starting, Go-Go,” She says, leaning back against the wall away from the patio, a moment of quiet amongst the celebrations. “I can’t wait for my babies to be best friends with your baby.”

“I can’t wait for that either,” Margot smiles. “And I’ll help you through the entire craziness of pregnancy over FaceTime and multiple text messages.”

“Thank you,” She breathes. “I love you, Margot.”

“Love you too,” Margot smiles, both girls laughing when Ravi interjects his own love you into the conversation.

Lara Jean hangs up the FaceTime after everyone says goodbye to Margot and Ravi, and as they all turn back to the patio to celebrate the news that their family is growing, it starts to sink in for Lara Jean.

They’re going to be a family of five.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there were a few of you who guessed twins in your comments and i have been sitting here like ... how do i not ruin this SO i am so glad this chapter is out now hahaha
> 
> thank you guys so so so much for the comments and kudos and reads on this story! i'm so glad you guys love this universe as much as i do :)
> 
> more on monday!


	4. four.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they find out the sex of the babies, and Lara Jean realizes things are going to have to change

By the time Lara Jean’s 20 week appointment rolls around, she’s more than showing.

Everyone at the bakery had celebrated the news with sparkling cider and mini strawberry shortcakes, which Lara Jean was more than ready to indulge in now that she was over the worst of the morning sickness.

Most of her dresses are growing tight on her bump, her doctor reassuring her at the last appointment that it’s normal to show faster and have your clothes not fit sooner when you’re carrying twins.

“I don’t know how I’m going to make it through 6 more months of this, Margot!” Lara Jean whines on FaceTime one night, tears flowing freely. It’s hormones, she knows, but it doesn’t make her feel any less ridiculous about crying over her belly growing when she’s growing two humans inside of her.

“You’ll get used to it,” Margot comforts, pacing in the nursery in their house. “In fact, I grew to love my bump. I’m going to miss it in a few weeks or whenever this child decides to enter the world.”

Lara Jean manages the smallest of laughs, nodding. “Can you send me where you bought all your maternity clothes? I at least want to look cute if I’m going to be huge.”

“Okay, well you’re not going to be huge,” Margot begins, but she smiles sheepishly when Lara Jean reminds her that she’s growing two humans. “But I’ll email you the links when we hang up. You’re going to die at how cute the clothes can be.”

They talk until Peter and Emmi return home from school and dinner needs to be on the table, and Margot promises Lara Jean that she’ll somehow get used to all the changes that are happening to her body that are happening far quicker than she was expecting.

Margot’s words flicker through her mind when she lays in bed beside Peter that night, scrolling through the maternity websites her sister sent over. She had ordered a few things, closed her laptop, and attempted to settle in on her mound of pillows to will herself into a slumber that never comes.

“Do you ever worry?” Lara Jean asks, staring at the ceiling. “About how we’re going to have twins?”

She can hear Peter roll over beside her, turning her head to look at him. “I mean yeah, sometimes,” He admits quietly, resting his head on his hand. “I think it’s natural to be worried about having twins. Or any kids at all.”

Lara Jean nods, folding her hands over her bump. “I just… I was worried about how Emmi would adjust to having to share our attention with one kid. But twins are going to be so much harder and she’s going to get less attention, and I — how are we going to balance that.”

Peter shifts closer beside her, free hand running through her hair. “We’re going to have a lot of help,” He says quietly, because it’s true and that’s what’s been putting his mind at ease. “And yes, Emmi is going to have to share attention. I’m sure there will be an adjustment period. I’m sure she’ll push back and get upset, but you know what? We’ll get through it. And somehow we’re going to raise these three humans together and it’s not always going to be easy, but we’ll be together.”

Lara Jean takes a deep breath, nodding. “I guess I just can’t believe we’re having twins.”

Peter laughs softly, nodding. “Neither can I,” He whispers. “But I’m really, really happy it’s you I’m having twins with.”

Lara Jean smiles wider, craning her neck forward to kiss him softly. “I love you,” She mumbles, watching Peter’s eyes brighten and his lips curl further into a smile.

“I love you too,” He replies easily, and for a moment everything really does feel okay.

Peter rolls back onto his back, silence filling the room again. And just as Lara Jean is halfway between awake and asleep, his voice fills the room again.

“Have you thought about taking a step back at the bakery?”

It’s a punch to the gut, honestly. Lara Jean _hadn’t_ been thinking about taking a step back, not even a little bit. “I mean, I feel okay to keep going normal hours now,” She says, but it comes out defensive and Peter is sitting up, shaking his head.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” He says quickly. “I just mean maybe giving more responsibilities to your workers. I don’t want something to happen to you there because you’re working too hard,” He admits quietly. “But I’m not saying that you have to quit now.”

Lara Jean nods, reaching over and lacing their fingers together. “I’ll keep it in mind,” She says quietly. “But right now I need _something_ that’s going to keep me feeling normal. And so if I can stay at the bakery for most of the pregnancy I think I’ll feel sane.”

She doesn’t miss Peter’s uneasy look he gives her about keeping their routine normal, but he nods anyway and leans over to kiss her again, hand spreading over her bump. “Okay,” He nods against her lips, kissing her again.

He lays back beside her, breathing slow and even after a moment, but Lara Jean lays awake for hours after contemplating how and when she’ll relent with her duties at the bakery — at least temporarily.

—

Lara Jean never does get excited about how much she’s showing and how fast it seemed to have happened, and the only thing that has her even remotely excited about her appointment is that she’s halfway and they’re going to attempt to find out the sex of the babies if they’ll cooperate.

“You look amazing, you know,” Peter mumbles, eyes flicking between his wife and his phone screen as he worked through some work emails.

“I hope you know that was less than convincing.”

Peter sighs, locking his phone and setting it on his lap, hand reaching out for Lara Jean’s. “Babe, you’re growing two humans. And I know you showed faster than you thought you would and a lot is changing, but you look amazing. You need to stop being so hard on yourself.”

Lara Jean bites her lip, nodding slowly. “No, I know,” She nods. Her free hand rests on her bump, rubbing it slowly as the babies kick underneath her touch. “Just sucks to see how cute Margot looked when she was halfway and I’m over here looking like this.”

“You look beautiful,” Peter says carefully, eyes searching for hers. “I promise you, you don’t look the way you think you do. You’re glowing.”

Lara Jean rolls her eyes, but there’s a smile tugging at her lips and she almost laughs when Dr. Kane knocks on the door, walking in.

She goes over the last few weeks since they had last been there, Lara Jean asks questions about the babies and if they’re growing okay, to which Dr. Kane answers with ease that both babies look great.

“You’ve gained the right amount of weight for a twin pregnancy, and when we do the scans we’ll see how the babies are growing. Everything you’ve told me has given me all the confidence that they’re going to be right on track as well,” She says with a smile, and her calm demeanor somehow puts Lara Jean a little at ease about all of this.

Just like the first ultrasound, Lara Jean leans back on the bed and reaches for Peter’s hand. She watches the monitor carefully as if she understands any of it, smiling when the heartbeats of both babies fill the room. “Both are measuring beautifully, Lara Jean,” She says, taking a few photos and writing a few things down on Lara Jean’s chart. “Were we wanting to find out the sex of the babies?”

Peter and Lara Jean share a glance, one that says so much and nothing at all at the same time, and then Peter is the one who clears his throat when he realizes Lara Jean isn’t going to speak up. “We were, yeah. If possible,” He smiles.

Dr. Kane nods, moving back to the monitor. “Did you find out with your daughter?”

“I did,” Peter nods. “Well, her mom did. I was told after. But it was nice knowing. It made it feel a little more real.”

Lara Jean looks back at Peter, eyebrows knitting in concern. Out of everything Lara Jean had heard about Emmi’s birth on the late night talks she and Peter shared, it hadn’t crossed her mind to ask him if he knew Emmi was going to be a girl. And now that she hears this, she wonders if he really did want to know, or if this was a facade because it wasn’t his choice to find out.

“Actually,” Lara Jean steps in, looking back at Dr. Kane. “Can you just —can it be put in an envelope?” She asks. “Just so we can open them with Emmi when she’s home from school tonight.”

If it’s an odd request Dr. Kane doesn’t show it, instead just nodding as she smiles. “Of course. I’m sure she’ll be excited.”

“She will,” Lara Jean nods, turning her attention back to Peter as Dr. Kane finds out the sex of both babies for them.

She shakes both of their hands and promises to see them in a month, leaving the room with the door quietly clicking shut behind her as Lara Jean wipes the rest of the gel off her belly.

“Do you not want to know what we’re having?” Peter asks once a moment has passed, eyes trained on his wife as she fixes her shirt. “Because I thought we were going to find out together and then tell Emmi tonight.”

“I want to know,” Lara Jean says softly. She looks at the sonogram photos in her hands, sighing. “I just… you never told me how you found out Emmi was a girl. And it sounded like maybe that wasn’t how you wanted to find out. Or that maybe you didn’t want to find out at all.”

She turns to Peter, watching him open his mouth to argue before he abruptly shuts it. “I mean yeah, it would’ve been nice to find out together. Or at least at an appointment and not her just telling me in passing when I get home from work,” He admits. “But you’re not her, you know that? And this is an entirely different circumstance.”

Lara Jean nods. “I just wanted to make sure that you weren’t finding out the sex of our kids because you felt like that’s what I want,” She says softly. “Because if you want to wait until they’re born so it’s a surprise, we can wait. I don’t mind.”

Peter sighs, standing up from his chair and moving so he’s standing just in front of Lara Jean, taking both of her hands. “I want nothing more than to find out the sex of our babies. In fact, I don’t think I’d be able to wait nine months to know,” He says. His words are firm but his voice is soft, reassuring, and slowly Lara Jean takes a deep breath and nods. “And I would’ve wanted to do the same with Emmi, okay? Just because I didn’t find out in the way that I wanted with Emmi doesn’t mean that I didn’t want to know at all.”

“You promise?” Lara Jean asks, squeezing Peter’s hands.

Peter breaks out into a grin, nodding. “I promise,” He mumbles, kissing Lara Jean softly as he helps her slide off the table. “Let’s go get lunch. Then back to work,” He says, and so Lara Jean agrees, placing the sonograms and the envelope with the sex of their babies safely inside her purse, holding her husband’s hand as they leave the doctor’s office.

_______________________________

Getting Emmi to eat her dinner has never been easier when they bribe her with finding out if she’s going to be having brothers or sisters.

“I ate all my broccoli, Daddy,” Emmi beams, stabbing the last piece with her fork and popping it into her mouth.

“It’s amazing what it takes to get you to eat all of your vegetables without a fight,” Peter smirks, finishing his own dinner. “I promise you we’re going to find out as soon as Mom is done eating.”

Emmi nods, but she’s wiggling in her seat and her patience is wearing thin, and so when Lara Jean finishes she smiles, looking between Peter and Emmi.

“If you take all of our plates to the sink, I’ll go get the envelope.”

Emmi nods quickly, sliding off her chair and carefully grabbing all of their plates, taking slow and calculated steps towards the sink so she doesn’t break or drop anything.

Lara Jean grabs the envelope from her bag, joining Peter and Emmi on the sofa. “What are your guesses?” She asks, but it’s mostly a delay technique and for a moment Lara Jean feels nauseous again, like maybe this is too much or happening too fast and she isn’t ready to know what they’re having.

Emmi ponders it for a moment, finger tapping her chin as Peter smooths his hand over her hair. “I think you’re having two girls.”

“You do?” Lara Jean asks.

“Are you just saying that because you want two sisters?”

Emmi furrows her brow in confusion, hesitating for a moment before she shakes her head. “No, I just think it’s two girls,” She says confidently, and for a moment Peter almost believes her.

“I think it’s two boys,” He says, and Lara Jean can’t help but laugh because she’s not sure he really believes that, or if he’s trying to will it into existence.

Lara Jean nods, the envelope placed carefully in her hands. “I think it’s one of each.”

“You’re just saying that so we each have a different guess,” Peter smirks.

“Maybe so,” Lara Jean smiles, turning the envelope over slowly and running her finger along the edge, opening it. “Are we ready?”

“Please, Mama,” Emmi sighs, head falling against Lara Jean's arm. “I can’t wait anymore!”

“Maybe we shouldn’t find out,” Peter teases, laughing when Emmi leans over and places her hand over his mouth, turning back to Lara Jean.

“Don’t listen to him, Mom.”

“I’m not,” Lara Jean promises, slowly pulling the piece of paper out. “Okay, the first baby is…”

She pauses. Takes a deep breath. And then uncovers the BABY A written on the page. “A girl.”

“YEAH!” Emmi screams, bouncing up and down in her seat. “I’m gonna have a sister, Daddy!”

“You are,” Peter laughs, hand resting on Emmi’s arm. He shares a glance with Lara Jean, one that says everything his words don’t, and then he nods, urging her to go on.

“And the second baby is…” Another pause. “A boy!” She smiles, shoving the paper over to her husband. “We’re having one of each!”

She watches as Peter’s eyes scan the paper, and then shifts to watch Emmi dance around the room, telling her stuffed animals in the corner that they’re going to have two babies and one is a boy and one is a girl, and then Lara Jean starts crying.

Because she’s so _happy_ that they’re having one of each and the pregnancy is going amazing and Emmi is as excited as she’s ever been about something in her life. She can feel Peter move across the sofa, arm wrapping tightly around her shoulder as her head presses against his t-shirt.

“You okay?” He mumbles against her hair, fingers dancing along the sleeve of her shirt. “You’re not crying because you’re upset, right?”

“God no,” She laughs, using the heel of her hand to rub away the tears. “I’m just… I don’t know. I hate hormones.”

Peter laughs quietly against her hair, lips pressing lightly. “You _are_ growing two babies.”

“I guess I just thought Emmi would be upset we’re having two kids at once. It’s going to be a lot, and…” She pauses, pulling herself away. “But she’s so excited. And you’re so excited, and _I’m_ so excited, and I just… it’s just a lot.”

Peter nods, using the pads of his thumbs to brush away the stray tears. “We’re going to have three kids,” He whispers.

And for how difficult it is to believe, Lara Jean just nods, head falling down against his shoulder as her hands rest on her bump.

They’re going to have two daughters and a son.

_______________________________

The first time Lara Jean feels the babies kick, she thinks it’s a fluke.

It’s more like a fluttering in her stomach. Like someone is doing somersaults, only it doesn’t make her nauseous and makes her feel light, and she quickly googles to figure out what it would be.

She doesn’t feel it again for a few days, when she’s mostly forgotten that it even happened and had resigned herself to thinking that it would be another week or two before she felt them move around. Dr. Kane had warned her that sometimes it takes a little longer to feel twins moving around.

She’s laying on the sofa watching _Moana_ with Peter and Emmi for the millionth time, bowl of popcorn resting between them. Lazily her hand is draped over her belly, and despite actually getting a good night’s rest the night before, she still finds herself dozing in and out.

And then it happens again.

She gasps, free hand flying to her belly as it happens again.

“What’s going on? You okay? Do we need to go to the hospital?” Peter asks, and soon the movie is long forgotten about and Peter is staring at her with eyes wide and worry etched across his face, and so Lara Jean forces herself to shake her head, a smile slowly spreading across her face.

“I think the babies just kicked,” She whispers, laughing when Emmi gasps and crawls across the space in the sofa to Lara Jean, tiny hands resting on her belly.

“Move your hand right here,” Lara Jean says softly, holding Emmi’s wrist and moving her hand to where she last felt the kick. It takes a moment, but when Emmi’s eyes widen and her jaw drops Lara Jean laughs, pulling Emmi in to kiss her head. “Feels weird, right?”

“Which baby was that?” Emmi asks, looking between both Peter and Lara Jean when they laugh at her.

“I’m not sure,” She admits with a smile. “I don’t know which baby is where.”

Emmi only looks slightly disappointed before she nods, leaning back as Peter reaches his hand over, spreading it over Lara Jean’s bump.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” He smiles after the babies finally kick again, and Lara Jean can only nod in agreement because even though it’s only been a few days, it still feels absolutely insane.

“Did you used to feel me kick?” Emmi asks, twisting her body to look up at Peter.

Peter nods, kissing the top of her head. “All the time. You were always wiggling around. Which makes sense because now you don’t stop wiggling,” He laughs, poking at her sides.

Emmi laughs, twisting and pressing into his side, one hand reaching back to rest on Lara Jean’s belly again.

And even though they don’t kick again that night, it’s a moment that Lara Jean is glad happened with everyone there so they could share this little moment together.

_______________________________

By week 25, standing for long hours at the bakery is getting harder.

Lara Jean’s mastered the art of working on cakes and eclairs and other treats while sitting down, but it’s a mini wedding season with the Winter holidays coming up and she feels more than useless as they work on wedding cakes.

“Lara Jean, you’re growing two humans. It’s understandable that you need to take as step back,” Zoe reasons, but it doesn’t sit well in Lara Jean’s stomach and she feels a lot like she’s slacking off as she fills her millionth eclair of the week.

“I just feel bad. This is my bakery and I feel like I’m not even pulling my weight.”

“Zoe’s right, LJ,” Jenna steps in, setting a tray of cookies down on the counter. “You’re pregnant, and you’ve put in so many hours to this bakery. You deserve to have as many breaks as you need. Especially as the pregnancy goes on.”

“Peter wouldn’t want you here working long hours,” Nick pipes up from the corner, shrugging.

“It’s not about what Peter wants,” Lara Jean says defiantly, using the back of her hand to brush a piece of hair off her forehead. “He’s not the one carrying these kids. I am. And I know I’m more than capable of working here while I’m only 25 weeks pregnant.”

“The way you’re rubbing at your back says otherwise.” Chris leans against the table, head in her elbows as she stares at her best friend. “Look, I think you’re a badass for coming to work everyday despite getting more pregnant by the day, but you’re doing yourself no favors sitting on a stool with no support for hours at a time working on orders or general fills.”

Lara Jean opens her mouth to refute Chris’ claims, but Chris narrows her eyes and so Lara Jean stops herself, sighing. “So you’re saying I shouldn’t work as much as I am?”

Chris slides onto a stool, shrugging. “I’m not telling you what to do with your life, Lara Jean. Frankly, I think we both know that you’re going to do what you want to do,” She says plainly, reaching forward to organize the eclairs on a display tray. “What I’m saying is if you wanted to only come in a few times a week, or come a few hours a day every day the bakery will be okay. You hired amazing people, I’m still here, and we can work while you work on growing two humans at once.”

Lara Jean lets out a shaky breath, fingers kneading her lower back right where the tension was. “I’m going to finish this tray of eclairs,” She says quietly. She pauses, thinking things through one more time, and then looks up. “And then I’m going to go home. Take a break.”

She doesn’t miss the smiles from her employees, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “But I want updates. And if you need input on a design, I want to be FaceTimed.”

“You have a deal,” Zoe smiles, picking up a tray of cookies to bring out to the front.

“For what it’s worth, LJ, I think you’re doing the right thing,” Chris smiles as she stands up, reaching for an extra cookie in the middle of the table.

“‘m not giving up working here until the babies are here though,” Lara Jean counters immediately, grabbing a new piping bag. “I’ll just… I’ll learn to scale back.”

Chris laughs, presses an obnoxious kiss to Lara Jean’s head before she slips back into her office.

Lara Jean _does_ try to get away with working on a cake order before she leaves, but Chris promptly stops her and makes her say her goodbyes to everyone, sending her on her way to go rest.  
  
Lara Jean cheeks her phone when she gets home, smiling at the text from Chris of the cake being worked on just like Lara Jean had hoped.

—

“Everyone at the bakery thinks it’d be good for me to scale back on my hours,” Lara Jean mumbles as Peter sits down on the sofa after putting Emmi to bed, pulling her feet into his lap and gently massaging them.

“Yeah?” Peter raises his eyebrows. “Maybe that’s a good idea. I mean you are five months pregnant with twins. It’d probably be good for you to take a step back. Let them figure out the bakery so when you are out it won’t be a shock. Maybe now is the right time to do it.”

Lara Jean pouts, sinking back further against the pillows. “Just sucks,” She admits. “That bakery is like my child right now, and having to scale back because my back hurts and I can’t sit on those stools or stand on my feet for hours sucks. I thought I had at least a few more weeks left in me before I needed to start cutting back hours.”

Peter’s quiet for a moment, eyes trained on her feet as he massages the arches gently. “I know it does. And maybe this is just a bad week or something and you’ll be back full time next week. But there’s no shame in taking a step back now,” He says quietly, his gaze lifting to meet Lara Jean’s. “And when the babies are here you’re going to be out for a little while, and so scaling back is probably a good step to get ready for that. You know I’m all for you giving over a little control. I have been for a while,” He smiles.

She just nods, unsure of what to say as she sinks down into the pillows. For a brief moment she wonders if Peter did this for Juliet when she was pregnant with Emmi. If he was as protective of Juliet as he was of her, if he was nervous or excited or maybe a little bit of both.

But Lara Jean has a hard time bringing all of that up. Because it feels weird to ask him about his ex-girlfriend who abandoned them. Or ask him how he felt when he was probably scared because he was 22 and about to become a dad.

So instead she sinks further down on the pillows, soaks in the feeling of Peter’s rough hands on her feet, massaging in just the right places, and reminds herself that taking a step back is the right thing to do, even when she’s stubborn and doesn’t want to admit it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now you know the sex of the babies! some of you had guessed (i thought it was pretty predictable to be honest), but now it's out there and i really don't have any other secrets for you guys to guess in the comments that i almost spill when i'm replying!
> 
> thank you guys so so much for the comments/kudos/reads in general! i love this little universe so much and i'm so happy you guys do too :)
> 
> more will be up on wednesday! :) <3 <3 <3


	5. five.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> one last road trip as a family of three, they discuss names, and Lara Jean and Peter make a huge change for the future

Margot’s son Logan is born on a rainy winter day when Lara Jean is 30 weeks pregnant.  
Dr. Covey made it there in time for the birth, although he respectfully waited in the waiting room with Trina, Kitty, and Ravi’s parents who had come from England earlier that week, smiling and catching up with them gleefully.

When things had settled down Lara Jean FaceTimed with her dad, smiling when the baby boy’s face filled the screen of her phone. “He’s adorable!” She gushes, sitting up from where she had finally gotten herself comfortable on the sofa to see better. “Peter, Emmi and I can’t wait to come down and meet him.”

Dr. Covey pans the phone from Logan to Margot, who's frowning as she lays in bed. “Lara Jean, you’re pregnant with twins. There’s no need for you guys to pack up and come down here for a weekend,” She says, voice full of concern. “I wouldn’t want to be the reason something happens if you sat in a car for three and a half hours coming to see us.”

Lara Jean furrows her eyebrows, shaking her head. “Margot, you just had a baby. My first nephew! I want to come see you,” She pauses, eyes scanning the screen. “My doctor said I’d be okay to travel until 32 weeks. I have an appointment tomorrow to make sure, but if we come next week that would give me one week to spare. And it’s only 3 and a half hours in a car.”

Margot looks like she’s going to argue, but a nurse steps in and talks for a moment, and the camera pans back to her dad. “Honey, don’t tell your sister this, but I think you’d be okay to come next week,” He says softly. “You know how she is. But you’ve had a fairly uncomplicated pregnancy and you feel okay, right?”

Lara Jean nods eagerly. “It was a little rough a few weeks ago because my body was stretching so much, but I feel better now. Just… less sleep.”

Her dad looks like he’s going to say something, but then stops himself. “I trust you,” Is all he replies, handing the phone wordlessly back to Margot.

“Lara Jean,” Margot begins, pushing herself to sit up a little better. Lara Jean doesn’t miss the wince on her face. “If you feel okay and your doctor gives you the okay, we’d love to have you guys come visit next week.”

Ravi pokes his head into view, nodding in agreement. “Just as long as you feel okay. Don’t feel pressured to come. We’re going to come see you guys when the twins are here.”

Lara Jean nods, thanking them a million times and promising that they’ll be there the following week, just as long as the doctor signs off on it and Peter is okay with it.

She stares at her nephew through FaceTime for a few more minutes, takes a million questionable screenshots, and then sends them off to Peter with a bunch of heart eye emojis when she hangs up with her sister, spending the rest of the afternoon thinking about how in a few weeks time it’ll be them holding two new babies and reveling in the glow of post-birth newborn life.

_______________________________

After careful instructions from Dr. Kane and a list of acceptable hospitals to go to should she go into labor Lara Jean and Peter pack the car for a long weekend in North Carolina, Emmi excited to meet Logan after an entire week of FaceTime calls talking to him.

“We’re going to have to stop a million times, just be warned. These babies have set up camp on my bladder.”

Peter cringes but nods anyway, pulling out of their parking garage with ease and driving towards the interstate.

They manage to get halfway into the drive before Lara Jean needs to stop to pee, which Peter uses as the perfect excuse to get Emmi out of the car and run around in the grass of the rest stop.

“I might have gotten gummy bears while I was in there,” Lara Jean smiles sheepishly, one hand resting on her belly as she meets Peter out in the open area. Peter just looks at her, biting back a smile. “Babies want them!”

“You’ve been using that excuse for weeks,” He smirks, but he reaches for a handful when she opens the bag anyway.

“Babies have wanted a lot of things. Who am I to deny that?”

They watch as Emmi runs around in the grass, organizes a game of tag with a few of the other kids who’s parents had the idea to get their energy out before getting back in the car, and when the bag of gummy bears is gone and Lara Jean feels like her feet look like balloons from standing for so long they usher Emmi back into the car to set out for the last part of their journey.

By the time they arrive at Margot’s Emmi is asleep and Lara Jean just wants to lay down and get out of the cramped car, meaning none of them are in the best of moods.

“When we go in you have to be quiet. Logan might be sleeping,” Lara Jean says as Emmi slides out of the car and rubs at her eyes, nodding and reaching up for Lara Jean’s hand.

Peter follows both girls into the house, setting the gift for the family down on the dining room table and snaking his way through the familiar halls of Margot’s house, smiling at the scene he finds in front of him.

Lara Jean has made herself comfortable on the recliner, Margot’s pregnancy pillow already downstairs for her, and Emmi is standing in front of Margot who’s sat on the sofa, Logan resting safely in her arms.

Ravi catches Peter’s gaze, smiling as he walks back into the kitchen and hugs him. Peter fumbles out some sort of congratulations, that they brought a gift and they can worry about opening it later, but his eyes can’t leave the scene in front of him, Emmi’s fingers carefully running over Logan’s face, her laugh quietly filling the room when he makes a face and stretches in Margot’s arms.

He does finally look up at Lara Jean, who’s also watching the scene with tears in her eyes because they’re weeks away from this being their reality, and Emmi seems so happy and natural with babies just from a few minute interaction that it gives them hope that maybe she’ll adjust this well when they have the twins.

Lara Jean holds Logan first, careful hands cradling his head as she maneuvers around her ever-growing bump. “You know they’re going to be tiny, but then you see him and you realize how tiny he is,” She mumbles.

Margot smiles. “It’s definitely surreal. And you’re going to have this moment with two babies soon.”

There’s a wave of fear that brushes over Lara Jean, but she manages to nod and focus her attention on her nephew, carefully handing him over to Peter after a few minutes.

Peter’s not surprised when Emmi scrambles up onto the sofa to sit beside him, using the hand sanitizer like Margot requested and letting her tiny fingers dance over Logan’s delicate skin. “I remember when you were this little,” Peter smiles, studying the face and being taken back to those first few nights in his cramped one bedroom apartment after Emmi was born, where he spent hours holding Emmi and doing anything to make sure she was okay.

“I was as little as Logan is?” Emmi asks, flinching when Logan makes a sound before settling back in Peter’s arms.

Peter nods, smile pulling at the corner of his lips. “You were. I used to hold you in one arm you were so tiny. And you made all these cute noises.”

“And I slept all the time?”

“ _All_ the time,” Peter laughs. “I would just watch you though, and you were so cute. And guess what?”

“What?” Emmi asks, fingers tapping along Logan’s cheek.

“You were all mine.”

Emmi smiles, head falling onto Peter’s shoulder. “He’s so cute, Daddy.”

“He is,” He nods, looking up to Margot and asking if Emmi can hold him. When Margot nods he turns back to Emmi, savoring the moment for a minute. “Did you want to hold him, Em?”

Emmi looks hesitant, but after promises that she wouldn’t hurt him and a promise from Peter that he’d stay right there she nods, leaning back against the sofa and setting a pillow in her lap, holding her arms out as Peter gently rests Logan in them.

“Support his head, Em,” Margot says calmly, snapping a million photos to send to her sister when the day was over as Peter helped her adjust.

Emmi only gets nervous a handful of times, mostly when Logan stirs or stretches or makes a noise, and Lara Jean watches from the recliner as her two favorite people hold her new nephew carefully.

“You okay?” Margot asks, carefully sitting down on the arm of the chair beside her sister. “This scene is adorable, but it has to be even better for you.”

Lara Jean nods idly, eyes fixed on the scene in front of her, her heart practically bursting when Emmi leans down to kiss Logan’s forehead. “I’ve just been so worried that she wouldn’t take to the babies once we found out it was twins, but watching her with Logan is so comforting and hopeful and it makes me feel a little better about us having our own kids in a few weeks.”

Margot nods, contemplating for a moment before she takes a breath. “You know, she’s probably going to get jealous,” She says quietly. “It’s natural. Logan has taken up a lot of my time, and he’s only one baby. You and Peter are going to have two tiny humans to look after, and Emmi is going to have to take a little bit of a back seat.”

The words don’t make Lara Jean feel better, at least not at first, and carefully she nods and attempts to force her brain to remember that it’ll be temporary. That eventually they’ll hit a point where the babies won’t be in the newborn stage, that they won’t need them as often.

“But I think after she adjusts to having two babies who are going to need yours and Peter’s attention, she’s going to love it. And you’ll wonder why you even worried about this in the first place.”

“You can’t be sure of that,” Lara Jean says quietly. The babies swirl in her stomach, and instinctively her hands rest on her belly.

“No, I can’t,” Margot sighs. “But I do know that Emmi is going to love being a big sister. It’s a big adjustment for all of you. Don’t stress over how it’s going to go.”

Lara Jean nods, feeling Margot kiss her head before she stands up to retrieve Logan to feed him. And as Emmi comes over to curl up as best she can around Lara Jean’s now enormous bump, everything feels okay.

Somehow they’ll figure it all out together.

—

Lara Jean has always had telltale signs of when she’s nervous.

She goes uncharacteristically quiet, chewing on the corner of her lip. If they’re sitting down, she shakes her leg. Answers that would normally be drawn out are resigned to one word or a short sentence.  
So when she goes quiet through dinner Peter counts down the minutes until they can retreat to the guest room and have a moment alone.

“Are you okay?” He asks, pulling off his t-shirt and tossing it on top of his duffel bag. “You’ve been quiet since dinner.”

Lara Jean nods, pulling the lotion from her bag and rubbing it on her bump. She’s quiet, tongue poking out the corner of her mouth as she rubs slowly and then looks up at her husband. “I can’t be a mom.”

It’s maybe the worst sentence she can say to someone who’s ex left in the middle of the night, and the second it leaves her lips her eyes widen and she shakes her head. “Peter, that’s not — I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know you didn’t,” Peter nods. “You meant you’re not ready to be a mom.”

Lara Jean breathes a sigh of relief. “I mean, I’ve never felt ready, but after seeing Logan and watching Margot with him? How am I going to do that? And not only with one kid, but with _two_.”

“I’m going to be here, you know. You’re not going to be doing this alone.”

“Okay, but you’ve been through it before!” Lara Jean is pacing now, walking back and forth as the old hardwood creaks underneath her. “You had Emmi, you spent the long nights with her and you calmed her down and fed her and changed her and you just — you’ve been through this before,” She stops, taking a deep breath. “I’m being thrown into this and what if I do something wrong? There’s going to be two tiny babies needing both of us, and I don’t know how I’m going to do this.”

Peter smiles, walking around the bed and standing in front of her. He takes her hands, squeezing gently. “Can I tell you a secret?”

Lara Jean nods, eyes looking to meet his.

“I had no idea what I was doing with Emmi.” There’s a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Like not a clue. In fact most of the time I guessed. I’m _still_ guessing.”

He shrugs, and Lara Jean finds herself laughing. “Are you being serious?”

“A million percent,” He nods earnestly. “Lara Jean, being a parent is really fucking hard. And they’re not going to be able to tell us what they need for a while. And it’s going to push us, but me doing this before doesn’t mean I know any more than you. We’re going to figure this out together, okay?”

Lara Jean takes a deep breath, nods, and lets her head fall against his chest. “I love you.”

Peter’s lips press against the top of her head, hands rubbing her back. “I love you too,” He mumbles against her hair, breath warm as he holds her for a moment. “We’ll figure it out. I promise.”

The room stills for a while, the two of them climb into bed and Lara Jean takes a while to get comfortable, staring at the ceiling.

“What was it like for you? The first time around,” Lara Jean asks quietly.

Peter shifts beside her. “Do you want the truth?”

“Please,” Lara Jean breathes.

“It was terrifying,” Peter admits. “The entire pregnancy was. Her parents said if she kept the baby they weren’t going to speak to her.” He pauses, taking a breath. “Juliet, she — it didn’t seem right to terminate the pregnancy or put her up for adoption, at least in her mind.” He laughs softly at the irony of that, and even through the dark room Lara Jean can hear him shake his head.

“We were barely 22, I wasn’t making much money at my first job, and Juliet took maternity leave at 7 months. I can’t fault her for that — she was showing signs of early labor a few times from stress — but it put stress on me to work overtime to make sure we had enough money.”

Lara Jean nods, listening to Peter’s careful words and his even breathing.

“Labor was hard. Her water broke at home after dinner, she wanted to have a home birth, and when her midwife got there and said it wasn’t safe for she or Emmi she almost broke down because it meant we had to go to the hospital.”

There’s a little emotion in Peter’s voice, Lara Jean notices. His voice shakes and carefully his hand reaches for hers, interlacing their fingers and squeezing gently. “And then Emmi’s cries filled the room just after 4 in the morning and it was like nothing bad had happened. Like we hadn’t been stressing about finances or how we were going to raise a kid in our tiny one bedroom apartment.”

He pauses again. “And then reality set in. My mom came to help, Gabe was more help than you’d ever believe, but we were exhausted and Emmi cried a lot, and there were days I thought we’d never make it out of those nights or those moments.”

Lara Jean feels her heart begin to race, her breathing quickening. The bed dips beside her, and carefully Peter moves closer. “A lot of that had to do with the fact that Juliet and I weren’t in a great place. We were fighting, she was exhausted and kept saying that maybe we should’ve gone the adoption route, and it made things worse.”

“I’m sorry,” Lara Jean breathes, mostly because she doesn’t know what to say.

“It’s okay,” Peter says. She can hear a smile behind his voice. “Because you know what? It got easier. Emmi slept more regularly, we fell into a routine. We made our tiny apartment work, Juliet went back to work, and being a parent didn’t seem quite as daunting.”

Lara Jean nods, shifting slightly so she can rest her head on his shoulder. “So you think we’re going to be okay?”

Peter’s hand squeezes hers. “We’re going to be fine,” He nods. “It’s going to be hard, we’re probably going to annoy each other and learn to function on almost no sleep, but it’ll be worth it. And we’re going to love these kids more than we’ve ever loved anything in the entire world. Except maybe Emmi.”

They both laugh at that, Peter’s lips trailing down her shoulder and arms. “I know it’s kind of a taboo subject or whatever, but you can always ask me about before. It’s okay.”

“Okay,” Lara Jean whispers, settling back against the pillows and closing her eyes.

Peter drifts off almost immediately, and as Lara Jean slowly wills herself to sleep, she finds she feels a lot lighter and comfortable about all of this than she had been before.

—

Most of the weekend goes like this:

Emmi requests to hold Logan morning, day, and night. Most of the time they oblige, bargaining with her that one of them needed to sit beside her while she held him (she always chose Ravi. Peter was only slightly jealous).

Lara Jean gets that sister time she’s been craving, talking for hours after everyone’s in bed over mugs of tea. Lara Jean talks about her pregnancy, how being pregnant with twins is hard and she feels like most of the time it’s never-ending. She confesses that she’s taken a step back at the bakery, trusting that everyone will keep her in the loop and she won’t feel like she’s missing out on things just because she can’t be there all the time.

Margot gives reassuring advice about labor and the days after. She talks about how the drugs were her friend, and going in with a loose birth plan was better than having a rigid one, at least in her mind. She talks about how sleep was optional and showering was few and far between last week, but Logan is still only a week old and so she doesn’t know all that much. Lara Jean still finds it comforting all the same, thinking about her own labor that will happen before she knows it.

When they pack up the car to leave Sunday afternoon Emmi gets some last baby snuggles, kissing Logan’s forehead a few more times for good measure before hugging both Margot and Ravi.

“We’ll come see you when the babies are born,” Margot says, which excites Lara Jean to no ends as she nods, giving her sister the best hug she can muster. “Let me know if you need anything, okay? Even if I don’t answer right away, I want to know everything.”

“You will, I promise,” Lara Jean smiles, waving as she settles into the car, waving a final few times until they’re down the street and Margot’s house is out of sight.

Peter takes Lara Jean’s hand after merging onto the highway, squeezing. “Can you believe that’s going to be us in a few weeks?” He asks, and while Lara Jean thinks maybe she should be more nervous about it all she just shakes her head, smiling back at him.

They’re going to be a family of five soon, and for the first time this whole pregnancy, she can’t wait.

_______________________________

The car ride home goes similar to the way it did on the way to Margot’s.

They stop to pee halfway, Emmi gets her energy out running through the open field once more, and when they pile back into the car armed with candy and drinks Lara Jean prepares herself for the rest of the car ride home.

“We have to think about names, you know,” Lara Jean says idly, traffic moving at a steady pace in front of them. “We haven’t even discussed what kind of names we want.”

“Nothing too wild,” Peter replies easily. He glances over at his wife. “If you want to read through names now we can.”

Lara Jean nods, thumbing through her phone to a list of baby names online, glancing back at her husband. “How did you decide on Emmi’s name?”

Peter laughs, shaking his head. “Juliet read it in a book she was reading. One of the character’s names was Emmi and she loved it.”

“You didn’t?”

“I didn’t _hate_ it,” Peter counters, shrugging. “It took a little longer to grow on me. It felt incomplete, you know? But expanding it into a full name didn’t sound right either.”

“Do you love it now?”

“Lara Jean,” Peter sighs, but he’s smiling. “I love it now. I can’t imagine her being named anything else. And it doesn’t bother me at all anymore.”

Lara Jean nods, staring at him for a moment longer before her eyes flick back to her phone screen, listing off a million girl names in a row.

“My final three are Olivia, Isabel and Brielle,” He decides after a moment. “What about you?”

“Olivia, Brielle, Ava, and Charlotte,” Lara Jean says. “I can’t pick three.”

“Fair,” Peter smiles. “Boy names?”

Lara Jean nods, clicking through the website until she lands on the baby names, rattling off a list.

“Carter, Theo, Greyson, Oliver,” Peter says after a moment. “Boy names are so much harder.”

“I agree,” Lara Jean groans. She’s quiet for a moment, scrolling up and down the list before looking back to Peter. “Carter, Oliver, Nolan, Levi.”

Peter nods, glancing back at Emmi asleep in her seat. “Giving a human a name they’re probably going to have their entire life is hard, isn’t it?”

“You could’ve warned me,” Lara Jean mumbles, adding her names to the list. “But at least we’ve narrowed it down so it’s easier to decide later.”

Peter nods, free hand reaching over to take hers. “We’ll figure it out,” He says so reassuringly that Lara Jean can just nod in agreement, squeezing his hand a little tighter as they inch their way back home.

_______________________________

“You know, now that we’re going to have three kids this apartment is going to feel small,” Lara Jean mumbles, tossing the throw pillows onto the floor by her side of the bed. “And I know the babies will be in here for the first few months, but Peter, we’re going to run out of room here.”

Peter pulls his shirt off his body, nodding. “Okay, so we start looking at bigger places. Townhomes? Maybe a house a little further out in the suburbs.”

Lara Jean pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. “I don’t want to be that far away from the bakery,” She admits. “There’s townhomes just at the edge of the city. Far enough that we’d have space, but close enough that we could get to work if we needed to.”

Peter nods, climbing into his side of the bed, watching with amusement as Lara Jean moves her pregnancy pillow and a million other pillows around, struggling to get comfortable. “We can start looking if you want,” He shrugs when she finally settles back, leaning over to grab his iPad.

They scroll through real estate listings for hours, mulling over their options and commute times until their eyes blur and Lara Jean almost gives up, sleep overcoming her more than it had in weeks. Peter persuades her to look at one more, and when Lara Jean groans but turns her head back anyway, she gasps at the photo on the screen.

It’s a historic house, and the entryway has this staircase that Lara Jean falls in love with and a brick wall that she can’t stop staring at, envisioning them living in this house. “We can’t afford this,” She says idly, but her finger taps the screen to look at more, Peter’s laugh softly flowing in her ear beside her.

“We can, actually,” He replies, waiting until she’s looked through all the photos before moving back to the home information. “Look, it’s a little pricy, but it has five bedrooms and more than enough space for all of us, and it’s not like it’s _that_ much of a stretch for us.”

Lara Jean contemplates it for a moment, reading the info and staring at the photo of the backyard that has grass and space for kids to run and play like the ones she and Peter had growing up, and maybe it’s a pregnancy thing or weakness about longing to live in a house with a little space and charm that she loved so much, but she finds herself falling even more in love.

“I think we should go look at it,” She says quietly.

“Really?”

Lara Jean nods, scrolling back through the pictures. “Maybe it’s a little pricey, but it’s a big house and we’d grow into it and we probably wouldn’t have to move again. And there’s a lot of charm and a _backyard_ like the ones we grew up with. I think — it just seems like the perfect place to raise a family.”

Peter looks over at his wife, smile wide on his face as he leans over, kissing her. It’s rough, not at all romantic, and before Lara Jean can even process what’s going on she’s laughing against his lips, kissing him for good measure.

“I’ll call tomorrow, see if we can find a time to go walk through it.”

He sets the iPad back on his nightstand, leaning over for another kiss, and as he drifts off to sleep beside Lara Jean she lays awake listening to the light traffic outside of their apartment thinking about the townhouse and the backyard and all the memories they could make there with a little more space.

_______________________________

If possible, Lara Jean falls more in love with the house than she had in the photos.

It’s historic, has the charm Lara Jean had dreamed about when she thought about a house she’d want to live in one day, and each step on the creaky original hardwood into another room had her envisioning raising their little family there.

The kitchen is small, but there’s enough counter space for her liking and she justifies that any big baking jobs can be done at the bakery if they need to be, and Peter agrees. She takes photos on her phone, mentally thinking about how she’d lay things out before Peter’s taking her hand, leading her back down the halls.

The stairs were difficult being 33 weeks pregnant, but she manages them and holds Peter’s hand as they walk through each bedroom. “One for each kid with one to spare,” He mumbles, laughing when they walk into a room with a fireplace and immediately declares that Emmi is going to want that room, even if the fireplace didn’t work.

If she loved the house, there was no better feeling then stepping out onto the back patio and coming face to face with a yard. It’s nowhere near as big as the ones they grew up with back home, but there’s green grass and enough space to run and play for hours, and Lara Jean is already thinking about the soccer games Emmi and Peter will have back there together, the babies joining when they’re old enough.

They thank the realtor for taking the time to show them the house, walking back to the car slowly. Their excuse was that Lara Jean had a doctors appointment that morning, and while they’d know more about how the babies were doing and how close they were to meeting them, all Lara Jean could think about was how much she loved that house.

“I think we should make an offer.”

Peter freezes halfway to putting his seatbelt on, looking over at his wife with raised eyebrows and an amused grin. “That was fast.”

“I know,” She sighs, fingers tapping on her phone quickly as she texts Trina. “But I loved it, Peter. And I could see us raising our kids there and it was just far enough from the city that we’d have space, but close enough that we could get Em to school and get to work quickly should they need us.”  
Peter’s silent for a moment, for a horrifying minute Lara Jean is convinced he didn’t like the house as much as she did, which will make things difficult.

“Let’s talk about money tonight,” He says, which Lara Jean immediately agrees and pulls him over to kiss him, holding his hand the entire way to the doctor.

_______________________________

After sleeping on it for the night and waking up the following morning with the same excitement in their stomachs as before, Peter makes another appointment with the realtor to look through the house one more time a few days later.

They bring Emmi with them, wanting to get her opinions on the house she could potentially spend the rest of her childhood in. They walk down the brick sidewalk streets with Emmi’s hand grasped in theirs, a few people passing by.

“It’s quieter here,” Emmi mumbles, looking around at the large trees and the few kids playing in the playground down the street. “I kind of like it.”

“Good. I think you’re really going to like the house,” Peter smiles, leading her up the steps to the old house with the front porch Lara Jean has already envisioned having morning coffee on, the three of them slipping back inside the front door to meet the realtor.

Emmi _does_ love the house, more than Peter and Lara Jean thought she would. She walks quietly down the halls and talks about how they can draw pictures at the table in the dining room and make cookies at Christmas in the kitchen, and hearing her talk about everything they can do makes Lara Jean fall in love with the house even more than she had before.

“I thought you’d like this room the best,” Peter says when they’re upstairs, his hand resting lightly on Emmi’s shoulder as they walk into the bedroom Peter had envisioned all her things in the first time they walked through.

Emmi steps into the room and notices the fireplace, gasping. “I would have a fireplace?” She asks, turning around.

“It wouldn’t work, but you would have it and that’s pretty cool, right?” Peter smiles, and Emmi immediately agrees.

She walks around the room, talking to herself about where they could put her bed and maybe she could even get a desk to work on her homework, and Lara Jean watches as the corners of Peter’s mouth twitch and he looks like he’s biting back words to agree to everything the 7 year old is saying because he wants to give her the world.

“The best part about this house is that you wouldn’t even have to share with your siblings!” Peter exclaims, somehow coaxing Emmi out of her potential bedroom and down the hall to look at the rest of the bedrooms.

Emmi seems to enjoy them all, but there’s something about the way she jumps down the steps into the backyard and runs the length of the fenced-in backyard, leaning back against the tree that’s down towards the garage at the end.

“There’s so much room!” She laughs, twirling around and trying to climb the tree before Peter makes her stop, the two of them standing on the brick patio watching.

“This is it, isn’t it?” Peter asks, one hand wrapping around Lara Jean’s shoulders as he pulls her close. “We’re going to put an offer?”

Lara Jean pauses for a moment, hands resting on her bump as her head falls onto Peter’s shoulder. “I think we should,” She nods, thinking about all the summer parties they could have in the backyard and the lights she could buy to decorate the space.

Peter’s lips press against the top of her head, and when he pulls away to usher Emmi inside so they can leave he grabs Lara Jean’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

If everything goes to plan, they’re going to be homeowners.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that summary sounded very ominous i'm sorry about that i don't know why i couldn't think of anything LESS vague without giving away that they're going to move! it won't be in this fic, but don't worry they will be moving in a one-shot so you won't miss out on the chaos!
> 
> also wowww this was a long chapter (longest of this fic), but i couldn't find a sensible place to break it up and so i just went with it.
> 
> thank you guys for the love on this fic/all my fics in general! you're all the best :)
> 
> see you on friday! <3 <3 <3


	6. six.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kitty and Chris throw a baby shower, Lara Jean and Peter get exciting news, and Peter and Emmi have one last special day together before it all changes

Kitty and Chris throw Lara Jean a baby shower when she’s 34 weeks pregnant.

She feels larger than ever, the thought of getting dressed up is the last thing on her mind, but they spent so much time on the decorations and ordering food that Lara Jean musters up the energy, putting on the only dress she thinks still fits her and takes Emmi out for an afternoon with the girls.

Chris’ apartment has been transformed from this grungy, very-Chris apartment into a Pinterest board of Lara Jean’s dreams, with pastel colors and the cutest baby decorations she thinks she’s ever seen. The island in the kitchen has been transformed into a food display, with a cake that Nick and Zoe made front and center, one layer pink and the other blue.

“I know you don’t follow the whole color theme, but we didn’t know what other colors to do so we just went standard,” Zoe smiles when she notices Lara Jean staring at it, to which Lara Jean laughs and hugs her, thanking her a million times for taking the time to do this.

Emmi helps Lara Jean open the presents, most clothes and blankets and little toys that they’ll be able to grow into. Lara Jean cries multiple times at the tiny baby clothes she’s holding in her hands, which Emmi doesn’t understand.

“It’s just baby clothes, Mama,” She shrugs, reaching out to hold them in her own hands.

Everyone laughs, and as Lara Jean nods and her fingers fumble with another piece of wrapping paper, she looks over at her daughter. “I know, but look how small they are!” She says, but Emmi still doesn’t get it and just shrugs again, leaning forward to grab another wrapped present from the floor in front of them.

Kitty sidles up next to Lara Jean when there’s a lull in the party, other guests talking and helping themselves to guests.

“Are you having fun?”

Lara Jean nods, thanking Emmi for the cookie she brought back for her on her own plate. “You really didn’t have to do all of this, Kitty,” She says softly. “Like really, this is all too much.”

“In all honesty, it was Chris’ idea. She thought it’d be nice if we celebrate you and the babies before things get too chaotic,” Kitty shrugs. She hides her smile behind her wine glass. “But you’re welcome, Lara Jean. You really do deserve it.”

Lara Jean suppresses the tears before she gets _too_ weepy for a baby shower, leaning over to hug her little sister. “You know, you’ve really grown up a lot these last few years.”

“Don’t worry, I’m still just as annoying as before,” Kitty beams, and for a moment Lara Jean forgets they’re celebrating her at all, laughing as she cherishes the quiet moments between she and her little sister.

_______________________________

By 36 weeks, Lara Jean is useless.

Her feet are swollen almost double the size, moving is nearly impossible, and sleep has turned into naps more than anything else.

Peter has picked up most of the slack, taking full control of getting Emmi to and from school and her activities, setting up the bassinets they bought for their bedroom for the first few months, and making almost all the meals for them. Going to the bakery is near impossible at this point, and while she’s missing it and does make it at least once a week to make sure things are running smoothly, she’s learned to love the FaceTime calls with Chris and the constant updates from the rest of the team, her mind relaxing when she realized that everything was in good hands.

They did end up putting an offer in on the house the morning after taking Emmi to view it, and after hours of research Peter wrote a heartfelt letter for the owners to read about how they’re expecting twins in the coming weeks and would love nothing more than to make it a forever home to raise their family in.

The owners, an older couple who had raised four children of their own in the house, were so touched by the letter that they accepted the offer immediately. It would take a while for everything to go through, but Lara Jean quickly realized it meant they’d be moving with two month old twins and it terrified her.

“We’ll be fine,” Peter promises, and there’s this easy smile on his face that Lara Jean thinks should probably relax her, but it doesn’t. “Besides, we have a lot of friends and family who are going to be more than willing to help us out with moving things and putting furniture together.” He presses a kiss to her forehead. “Think about how amazing it’ll be when we’re all moved in.”

Over the following days after their offer is accepted, Lara Jean does get excited again. She thinks about how she can decorate the babies’ rooms and how she and Emmi can go shopping for decorations the way she can remember going shopping with her own mom when she was young, and that takes away the stress of packing a hospital bag and thinking about a labor plan and the all too real fact that these babies were most likely coming in the next week or two.

“I don’t want you going further than next week,” Dr. Kane says softly at her appointment, doing one last ultrasound on the babies. “You’re already 2 centimeters dilated, and any further could make things worse. Twin pregnancies are considered full-term around 37 weeks, and frankly, the fact that you made it this long is a feat in itself, Lara Jean.”

Lara Jean nods, chewing on the corner of her lip as she stares at the screen. “Is there any way I’m going to be able to have a vaginal labor?”

Dr. Kane prints out a few pictures, turning in her chair. “Based on how things are going right now, there’s no reason why you couldn’t,” She says. Lara Jean bites back a smile. “There will be a lot of people in the room. Standard procedure, but vaginal births require it. And you’ll most likely need an epidural in case we need an emergency c-section,” She explains quickly, leaving Lara Jean to try to scramble to retain it all.

“But, I want you to manage your expectations. Things change all the time with labor, even more so when it’s twins. C-sections are not uncommon with twins, and I don’t want you to feel like that’s a fail if we have to go that route. Babies and mom staying safe is the most important thing.”

“No, I know,” Lara Jean nods quickly, wiping the gel off her belly and sitting up with Peter’s help. “I just wanted to know if that was a realistic thought to have or not.”

Dr. Kane’s smile grows wider. “Definitely an obtainable goal. I just want you to know that things happen.”

She answers a few more questions, gives Lara Jean a paper on what to look out for and signs of labor if it happens before her appointment the next week, and when they finally are ready to leave all Lara Jean can think about is a mint milkshake from the diner and leaves the thought of having three kids in a week firmly in the back of her mind.

“You haven’t said a word since we sat down,” Peter mumbles, plucking a fry from the plate in the center of the table. “What’s wrong?”

Lara Jean curls her lips around her straw, taking a sip of her milkshake and expertly avoiding the question, at least for a moment.

“LJ, talk to me,” Peter sighs, reaching forward to take her hand. “You were fine until the appointment.”

Lara Jean takes a breath. “You’re telling me you’re not terrified at the thought of us having _three_ kids next week?”

Peter sighs, the corners of his lips twitching. “I hadn’t thought much about it,” He admits, which makes Lara Jean furrow her eyebrows because _how_ wasn’t he thinking about this. “It’s going to be daunting, sure, but we’re not alone.”

“How are we not alone?”

“My mom is coming the second you go into labor or we go to the hospital. Your dad and Trina are coming, and we’re going to have help. We can… it’s not going to be just us fumbling through this the first few weeks.”

Lara Jean takes another sip of her milkshake, pulling a fry from the plate and dragging it through the ketchup on her plate. “I don’t know. I just — they’re not going to stay forever. And then we’ll be alone with three kids.”

“Emmi’s 7. She doesn’t need us every waking moment,” Peter argues. There’s a smile on his face, he looks so confident, and for a moment Lara Jean is jealous that he can be so nonchalant about all of this.

“It’s just scary to think about. That we’re going to move when they’re so young and then we’ll be in this new house in a new area alone, and we’re going to have these three kids who are going to need us.”

Peter nods, taking another fry. He reaches over the table, taking Lara Jean’s hand and bringing it up to kiss her knuckles gently. “Everything will be fine. We’ll figure out this parenting thing together.”

Lara Jean nods, gently pulling her hand away and pulling more fries onto her plate, and when the fries are gone and her milkshake finally disappears in the oversized mug in front of her, Lara Jean thinks maybe things really will work out.

_______________________________

“Who am I going to stay with when Mama goes to have the babies?”

“Gabe,” Peter sighs, setting the salad in the center of the table as Lara Jean moves to sit in her own chair. “And then when Mama does have the babies he’ll bring you up to the hospital so you can meet them.”

“And then you’ll stay with me?” Emmi asks, leaning forward to grab the tongs to bring salad to her plate.

“I’m going to stay with Mom at the hospital. Grandma is going to stay here with you until we come home.”

Emmi nods, stabbing her fork into a crouton. “And then you’re going to bring them home and they’ll live here, right?”

Peter bites back a smile, handing Lara Jean a piece of chicken for her plate. “Then they’ll live here, yes,” He promises, and when that seems to satisfy Emmi she nods, sitting back and cutting up her chicken slowly with her new privileges of being able to use an adult knife like they do to cut meat.

Conversation flows over dinner. Emmi talks about her last weeks at school and all the activities they’re doing. She grows excited about field day coming up at the end of the week and how she and Lila and Braden are all on the same team, and when Peter asks her what sports she’s doing she shrugs and tries to act like it’s not a big deal that she got chosen to play soccer and run the track race.

“I’m going to be there, but Mama won’t be.”

“Next year the babies and I will come,” Lara Jean promises. “But this year it’s just going to be too much.”

“It’s okay, Mom,” Emmi smiles. “You can stay here and wait for the babies to come!”

Lara Jean’s grin grows as she nods, asking Emmi about her homework and if she’ll help with picking out some outfits for the babies to wear while they’re in the hospital. Emmi immediately agrees, finishes her dinner with ease, and when she’s done and her plate is in the sink she washes her hands disappearing down to the spare room where they’ve been keeping the baby clothes they’ve bought that are most definitely getting out of hand.

“You should take her out for one last date together before the babies get here,” Lara Jean says.

Getting up is an ordeal, but she manages, watching her husband’s reaction. When he doesn’t say anything, she smiles and speaks again. “She's been your baby for seven years. She hasn’t had to share you, and in the last year she’s watched you get married and now you’re having twins. I think she needs a daddy-daughter date. So she knows that even though a lot of things have changed, she always has you.”

Peter’s quiet for a moment, carrying over the rest of the dishes and placing them by the sink. “Do you think that’s why she was asking so many questions about the babies being born?”

Lara Jean nods, hand rubbing his back softly, free hand resting on her bump. “I think she’s scared that things are going to change. And they _are_ , Peter. So if you can give her one more special date that’s just the two of you without coming home to two more kids, then you should do it.”

A million thoughts run through Peter’s mind. He thinks about all the dates he could bring her on, how this is their last week with just Emmi in this house, and when he manages to form a coherent sentence in his brain he nods quickly, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

“I think it’s a perfect idea.”

Lara Jean smiles, kissing his shoulder in favor of trying to kiss his cheek, and when she slowly makes her way to the spare room to help Emmi Peter does the dishes and thinks about one final date with his little girl, the realization that this is all about to change dawning on him.

_______________________________

It’s the warmest day of the year on the day of field day. There isn’t a cloud in the sky, the sun is warm, and Peter put enough sunscreen on Emmi that he’s pretty sure the sun is going to reflect off of her.

There’s a group of parents huddled in the corner of the field watching. Peter stands with Lila and Braden’s moms for a while, talking about the school year and plans for the summer and the babies coming.

“We have a little less than a week left,” Peter smiles, which saying out loud brings a fear he never had before. “We’re as prepared as we can be, but I think it’s a lot for Emmi to think about. She’s been asking a lot of questions lately.”

“Lila was the same way before I had Max. I think it’s just a power thing. They’re going from being only children to having siblings,” Amy smiles. “If she’s anything like Lila, she’s going to love it more than anything.”

Peter nods, trying to feel slightly comforted by that as he shifts his attention to the field in front of them. And while he knows it’s just field day — a day for kids to have fun and do their best — he was a naturally competitive person. He distinctly remembers trying his hardest on field days, racing his friends, pouting when someone would beat him.

Emmi’s the same way, her tiny legs carrying her as fast as she can through the track race. She wins just barely, celebrating and hugging her friends as she collects her ribbon and runs over to Peter, holding it up in celebration.

“Send it to Mom!” She says, and so Peter obliges, taking a photo of Emmi and sending it to Lara Jean with a few emojis.

_My heart is going to burst at this picture! Love her so so so much <3_

Peter smiles, pocketing his phone and focusing on the soccer game in front of him, and when the morning ends and Emmi’s cheeks are tinged red from the sports and the sun he signs her out of school, taking her hand and walking her back to the car.

“I thought you and I would have a little date together. Before the babies come.”

“Where are we going?” Emmi asks, looking up at her dad through the mirror. “Is it somewhere fun?”

Peter smiles, turning on the car and navigating his way out of the crowded parking lot and back into traffic, looking back at Emmi when she stops at a red light. “I thought maybe we’d go get some ice cream and sit in the park and watch the ducks like we used to?”

Saying it out loud sounds ridiculous. The last time he and Emmi sat at the park and watched the ducks she was 3, but they did it so frequently and she always laughed and loved spending hours there, and reminiscing did no good for his brain who was trying to think of something special they could share together.

Luckily for Peter, Emmi seems over the moon about this idea. She nods immediately, talking about the ice cream flavor she’s going to get as they drive through town, holding his hand as they walk down the streets and into their favorite homemade ice cream shop.

They walk down to the park, finding an empty bench overlooking the pond that was filled with ducks, sitting down to eat. Their conversation is sparse, Emmi mostly spends her time pointing out ducks and laughing at the two that are fighting, but it’s nice and Peter didn’t realize how much he needed this one on one time with his little girl.

“Em, I know a lot of things have changed for us the last few years,” He says, reaching over instinctively with a napkin to stop the ice cream from dripping down her arm from her cone. “With Mom moving in and us getting married and then her adopting you. And now we’re going to add two babies into our little family.”

He pauses, brushing a piece of Emmi’s hair that fell out of her braid away from her face as she quickly licks at the ice cream spilling over the edges of her cone.

“I know we don’t talk about it a lot, but even though a lot has changed and these babies are going to need me a lot, I’m always going to be here for you. Whatever you need, whenever you need it. Everything that’s changed and everything that will change in the next few days will not stop me from being there for you.”

Emmi nods, licking her hand and laughing as she wipes away some of the ice cream. “I know, Daddy. I’m still going to tell you everything.”

Peter smiles, knowing full well that that probably isn’t the case. That they’re close to her pre-teen and teen years and she’s probably _not_ going to tell him everything that happens then (and he’s not sure he even wants to know everything), but he’s going to take it now.

“You know, it’s okay to be scared about the babies coming and everything changing. I’m kind of nervous, too.”

“You are?” Emmi asks. She reaches out for a napkin, taking the last bite of her cone and wiping her hands.

Peter nods, wiping her face and pushing her hair back so no lingering ice cream lands in it. “We’re going to have two tiny babies in the house, Em. That’s kind of scary.”

Emmi thinks about it for a moment, her bottom lip pulling between her teeth before she nods. “I just don’t want them to have _all_ yours and Mama’s attention,” She admits quietly.

“They won’t,” Peter replies. He catches himself before saying that she’d still get as much attention as she does now because it’s a lie and he can’t do that to her. “They _are_ going to need me and Mama quite a bit, but you are still going to have our attention and we’re still going to take you to all your activities and to playdates and have time with you that doesn’t revolve away from the babies.”

Emmi nods. “Can I help with the babies?”

Peter smiles, arm wrapping around Emmi’s shoulders, pulling her into his side. “Of course. They’re going to be very small and fragile for the first few months, but you can help us, and then when they’re a little older and stronger we can have you help even more.”

“I can teach them how to play with all their new toys!”

Peter laughs, nodding. “It’s going to take a few months before they’re ready for that, but then you can teach them everything you need to know,” He promises.

Emmi seems satisfied with that, nodding quickly and resting her head against his torso.

"You're always going to be my little girl, Em. Even with the new babies coming and one of them being a girl. You know that, right?” He asks after a moment. He feels Emmi nod against his side. “You made me a dad, kid. And nothing will ever change that.”

Emmi smiles, pulling her head from his side, squinting up to look at his face. “I’m really glad you’re my dad. You’re the best.”

Peter smiles, ruffling Emmi’s hair and pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head. “I’m really glad I get to be your dad,” He mumbles, and he doesn’t know if he’s felt that as strongly as he does right now.

The conversation lulls, Emmi and Peter watch people walk by and the ducks swim in the pond in front of them, and when rush hour starts to pick up and Lara Jean texts asking when they’d be home so she could start dinner Peter lifts Emmi up into his arms, carrying her back to the car so they can go back home and back into their normal routine, now feeling a little bit better about the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys for reading/commenting/leaving kudos! only one chapter left! (and we all know what's going to happen in it omg)
> 
> the final chapter will be posted sometime sunday, i can't wait for you guys to read it! :)
> 
> see you thennn :)


	7. seven.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> let's have some babies!

The first contraction happens at 2 in the morning.

Lara Jean doesn’t think much of it at first. She hasn’t been sleeping well for months, her bladder has been crushed by two humans growing inside of her, her lungs don’t expand enough, and her children are nocturnal. Braxton Hicks contractions have been constant the last few months, though never consistent.

But this contraction feels different.

Her hands rest on her belly, applying the slightest of pressure and rubbing until the pain subsides and the tension her belly just disappears enough. Beside her Peter sleeps, soft snores escaping is slightly parted lips, hands wrapped around the pillow. He looks so comfortable and peaceful that Lara Jean is almost jealous, trying to will herself back to sleep in hopes of being a somewhat functional human the following morning.

And then it happens again.

It’s not any worse this time, but it’s more than normal and blindly she reaches for her phone, timing it just in case.

The clock reads 2:16, the contraction subsides, and in a haze Lara Jean types it into her pregnancy app and fumbles through her texts until she lands on Margot’s.

_I’m sorry if this wakes you up but I think I might be going into labor? These contractions feel different than Braxton Hicks but they’re not close together and they’re pretty inconsistent._

Her phone vibrates a moment later, a text from Margot.

_Sounds like it could be the beginning of labor. Did you time them? Keep track of how far apart they are. If they get stronger, call your doctor and head to the hospital._

She begins to type back, and then Margot texts again.

_But ahhh! Babies are (probably) coming! You’ve got this, Lara Jean :)_

She manages to send back a thumbs up emoji, but she doesn’t feel entirely confident about that and instead settles back into bed, thumbing through her pregnancy app and writing in her contractions, trying to find the smallest of patterns to explain why this is happening.

When another one hits she times it, types it into her app, and then decides maybe she should wake Peter up.

But he’s a heavy sleeper, and with her belly bigger than ever and the contractions teetering on the edge every waking moment, it takes more than a few shoves of his shoulder before he stirs, looking over at her.

“You okay?” He asks, rolling over and sitting up, his hand rubbing over his face. “Can’t sleep?”

“I’m having contractions,” She says bluntly. Sitting up is near impossible, but she manages just enough, looking over at her husband. “They’re not totally consistent, but I’ve had two already and I feel like I’m probably going to have a third soon.”

If Peter was half asleep before he’s fully awake now, sitting up straighter and eyes wide as he looks at her. “Are you okay? Do you think this is real or just more Braxton Hicks?”

“It’s real,” Lara Jean replies immediately, hand shaking as she holds out her phone so he can see the pregnancy app. “They’re fairly consistent, and I googled contraction times when you’re going into labor and they’re fairly consistent.” She pauses, taking a breath. “I think this is the real thing, Peter.”

Peter nods, leaning over and running his fingers through her hair. “Okay, alright,” He says softly, a lame attempt at soothing her as he stands up, leaning over for his sweatpants and slipping them back on. “You call Dr. Kane, I’ll call Gabe and ask him to come stay with Emmi.”

Lara Jean nods, taking her phone back from him and calling the number she was given for labor in the middle of the night. Peter walks into the bathroom, dialing Gabe a few times before he finally answers. While Lara Jean is waiting for confirmation on the next steps she listens to Peter’s conversation, smiling at his explanations to an undoubtedly exhausted and half asleep Gabe on the other line.

When he returns Lara Jean is just finishing up on the phone, hanging up and looking back at him. “Gabe’s on his way over. A little tired, but he got it in the end.” His smile is easy and he’s running his hands through his hair and if Lara Jean wasn’t in labor she’s pretty sure she would’ve found a way to stand up and make out with him right then and there. “What did the doctors say?”

“They want me to come in,” She says softly. Another contraction hits, and mindlessly she reaches out for Peter’s hand. He holds it, quietly reminding her to breathe, hand firm in hers as he pushes her hair away from her face.

When it subsides, she looks back up at him. “They think this is the real thing,” She continues, and somehow Peter stifles his laugh because it’s pretty obvious this is in fact very real and not at all like the false labors they had had a few times before.

“Okay, well, you obviously don’t have to change. Gabe should be here in a few minutes and then we’ll go,” He promises.

Lara Jean nods, and when she feels like she can stand she does so, letting Peter grab the hospital bag from the floor by the door and slowly following him out to the living room.

Gabe arrives a few minutes later, pajamas on and a duffel bag slung over his shoulder with what Lara Jean can only presume is his clothes for work the following day.

“The guest bedroom is made up for you, or you can hang out here, I don’t really care,” Peter says, walking around the kitchen as he makes Emmi’s lunch. “Em needs to be up for school at 7, but she has to be in her class by 9. I’ll put her lunch in the fridge, but if you forget it she has money in her account.”

“Peter, I got it,” Gabe smiles. “I’ve babysat her before. Getting her to school won’t be an issue. You two just go have some babies.”

Peter nods, placing the lunchbox back in the fridge and turning around. “Okay, yeah. You can do this.” He passes by Gabe, slipping on his sneakers. “I’ll keep you updated.”

Gabe nods, arms crossing over his chest. “Go say goodbye to Emmi. I know it’s killing you not to.”

Peter thinks about arguing, but he catches a glance of Lara Jean who nods in agreement with Gabe, and so behind the laughs of his wife and best friend he turns on his heels, quietly walking back down the hallway.

Emmi’s curled up in the corner of her bed, stuffed elephant tucked under her arm. Her hair is splayed across the pillow, and when Peter kneels down beside her and gently nudges her shoulder she stirs, whining as she rubs at her eyes.

“You can go back to sleep in a minute, kiddo,” Peter whispers, fingers running through her curls. “Mama and I are leaving to go have the babies. Gabe is here, he’s going to take you to school and then stay with you this afternoon until you can come to the hospital.”

Emmi parts her eyes, yawning and nodding. “So you won’t be here when I wake up?”

“I won’t,” Peter whispers. “But Gabe will be, and he’ll bring you to the hospital when the babies are born, okay?”

“Okay,” Emmi whispers, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his neck. “I love you Daddy.”

“I love you too, kiddo,” Peter whispers, feeling oddly emotional about his final moment as a dad of one. “More than you’ll ever realize.”

“Tell Mama I love her too,” Emmi smiles, leaning back on the pillow.

“I will,” Peter smiles, and after one more kiss on her forehead he stands up, looking back once more at Emmi before closing the door and walking back down the hall.

Lara Jean has her shoes on now, hand resting against the wall as another contraction subsides. “Not to break up this party, but if we don’t go soon there is a chance my water will break and I could very possibly have your children on our entryway floor.”

Peter somehow manages to swallow down the nausea at the thought of delivering his own children in the entryway of the apartment they were moving out of soon, nodding and grabbing his car keys.

“Good luck, you two!” Gabe smiles, hugging Lara Jean as best he can before pulling Peter in for a hug. “It’ll be fine. You’re ready for this this time. Just think, two more Emmi’s running around soon. And it's going to be perfect.”

And somehow that’s enough for Peter, who nods against Gabe’s shoulder and pulls away, slowly ushering Lara Jean down to the car.

“Let’s go have some babies,” Peter smiles when he’s backing out of their parking spot and out onto the quiet streets of town, and as Lara Jean breathes through another contraction she nods quickly, an indication that she is just as on board with that idea as he is.

_______________________________

Lara Jean’s water breaks just as she goes to lay down on the bed in the maternity ward. It’s unexpected and for a moment she’s fairly sure she peed herself, but the nurse named Molly smiles and assures her it’s fine, and then Peter is holding her hand through another contraction.

By the time she’s changed into a hospital gown and hooked up to monitors all she can think about is the pain relief that will come once Dr. Kane is there, hand lazily holding Peter’s as he pulls up a chair beside her.

“I have to call our parents,” He mumbles after a moment, lips brushing against her knuckles.

She nods, breathing through another contraction and squeezing his hand before replying. “Just make sure they don’t worry. Or rush getting here. It could be a while.”

Peter nods, standing up and kissing her forehead before grabbing his phone and calling.

His mom is understandably excited, asking a million questions and asking about Emmi and if she’s still going to school, to which Peter replies with ease that Gabe is with her and she’s still going, she’ll just come to the hospital when the babies arrive. His mom promises that she’ll close up the store and head into the city later that morning, and when Peter tells her to take her time he can hear her smile in her reply.

“My grandbabies are being born, Peter. It’s a big day!”

He can’t help but laugh, thinking back to the last time he went through this and he called her from the hallway of the emergency room begging her to get to them as fast as she could because Emmi was coming and he was terrified he wasn’t ready.

He’s come a long way since then.

He calls Dr. Covey after hanging up with his mom, answering a few questions and then turning to Lara Jean. “He wants to talk to you.”

Lara Jean nods, rolling her eyes and reaching out for the phone. “Hi Daddy.”

Peter digs through his bag to make sure they have everything, smiling at the conversation behind him.

“I’m okay. They’re going to give me an epidural soon. I’m four centimeters.” She pauses. “I don’t know, they said it’d probably go quickly. I know Dad.” A sigh. “Dad, I know. I’m ready. You made us go to those birth classes, remember?”

Peter turns back, smiling as Lara Jean breathes through another contraction.

“Okay. We’ll see you soon. Love you.”

She hangs up and tosses the phone in the general direction of Peter, taking a deep breath. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“He’s worried,” Peter smirks. “Besides, he has a lot more experience than we do.”

“Doesn’t mean I want him being overbearing while I’m literally about to push two humans out of my body.”

Peter winces. “Okay, well at least he was bearable during the pregnancy?”

Lara Jean narrows her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she looks back at him. “I know we haven't really talked about it, but I only want you there when I am having the twins.”

“You have yourself a deal,” Peter agrees. He takes his seat back beside her, holding her hand and reminding her to breathe through another contraction.

_______________________________

Lara Jean is pretty sure an epidural is a small slice of heaven. It takes away the intensity of the contractions, and while she still feels them and she’s definitely still more than uncomfortable, she’s actually able to take a nap for a few hours while they monitor the babies closely.

Their parents had arrived and snuck in to say hello, spending a few minutes before leaving them be. “We’ll be in the waiting room if you guys need anything,” Trina smiles, and Peter thanks her as she practically drags Dr. Covey away from the machines where he had been diligently watching the babies and back down the hallway.

“You’re so close,” Peter whispers after Dr. Kane checks, announcing that she’s at 8 centimeters. He presses a light kiss to her head, accepting the cool washcloth the nurse hands him to place on her forehead.

“How am I going to do this?” Lara Jean whispers. Because 8 centimeters means she’s almost there and it’s only been seven hours since she went into labor and she thought she’d have more _time_ before the babies were here.

But Peter, who’s been the best person in the entire world, just stays calm and kisses the side of her head. “It’s going to be fine. I’m going to be right there, the doctors are going to get them here safely, and no matter what happens it’s going to be fine.”

Lara Jean nods, hand idly reaching up to grab his, and squeezes gently. “Don’t leave.”

“‘m not,” Peter promises, lips pressing lightly to her temple. “I’m going to be right here.”

Lara Jean nods, and as labor progresses and the pressure in her stomach from the contractions is at an almost constant, she squeezes Peter’s hand a little tighter. He offers to get her dad but she immediately declines.

“Don’t want him here for this,” She mumbles, gritting her teeth when the pressure increases slightly. “Just want you.”

Peter nods in understanding, glancing up at the monitors in hopes that he understands anything, and breathes a silent sigh of relief when Dr. Kane walks in smiling.

“Let’s see if we can get things started, yes Lara Jean?” She says, and Lara Jean just nods, looking down as she checks her.

It feels like hours before she finally looks up, smiling. “Let’s get you ready to go,” She smiles, looking over to the nurse to start assembling the team. “How do you two feel about going to bring some babies into this world?”

“Now?” Lara Jean asks, sinking down onto the pillow.

“Right now,” Dr. Kane affirms, standing up and tossing her gloves in the trash. “We’re going to take you down to the operating room, but if you still want to try a vaginal birth the babies are nice and stable and you’d be able to,” She says.

Peter looks at Lara Jean, who glances at him, pauses, and then nods. “Yeah, yes. I still want to push.”

Dr. Kane nods, Peter is whisked away by a nurse to get ready for the operating room, and as they walk down the hall and Peter walks into the operating room where everyone was waiting, it suddenly becomes real.

The babies are almost here.

—

Lara Jean is a superhero.

Like an honest to god superhero, at least in Peter’s eyes.

After being in labor for 8 hours, she pushes for three more hours.

Three long hours that felt never ending and made Peter want to call it quits on her behalf. The babies remained strong, Dr. Kane felt comfortable continuing, and as Peter stood diligently by his wife’s side he did everything he could to keep her motivated and promise her that it was going to be fine.

Olivia Jane Kavinsky is born at 2:23pm, her cries filling the room as the nurses quickly show Lara Jean and Peter before whisking her off to be checked.

Carter James Kavinsky is born 15 minutes later at 2:38pm, lungs rivaling his older sister’s.

“They’re here,” Peter whispers, holding Lara Jean’s hand and kissing her softly, brushing her tears away with his free hand. “You’re a fucking hero, Lara Jean, you know that? You just had two babies. You did it!”

She laughs, tears streaming fully now as she nods. “They’re amazing,” She whispers, and Peter can only laugh, tears blurring his own eyes as he kisses her again, listening to the babies cry before the nurse calls him over. "Go. Go be with our babies. I'll be fine," She urges, and Peter nods, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand as he leans down, kissing his wife again.

He watches the nurses take their vitals and make sure they're healthy, tears blurring his eyes and constantly wiping them. He remembers standing here when Emmi was born, the fear being taken over by pure joy and adoration at the tiny human he helped create, and he finds it's the same way right now staring down at the two babies his wife just heroically birthed. The fear of parenting twins has been replaced by the love and joy for these two humans in front of him, and somehow he feels like maybe it'll all be okay.

They’re officially a family of five.

—

Lara Jean properly sees the babies just under an hour after she delivered them. Both are strong, healthy, and Dr. Kane marvels at how well both are doing.

“Everything looks great, Lara Jean,” She smiles. “I’ll leave you two be for a little while. Congratulations.”  
She steps out of the room and carefully Peter hands Olivia to Lara Jean, picking Carter up in his arms and walking to sit in the chair next to his wife. “They’re adorable, LJ.”

“They are,” She nods, finger brushing over Olivia’s cheek. “She looks like Em.”

“Just like her. That’s exactly how she looked when she was born,” Peter nods, staring down at Carter. “But I think he looks like you.”

Lara Jean looks up with a tired smile on her face, raising her eyebrows. “You think?”

Peter nods, staring down at his son for a while, marveling in the quiet moments after labor where they can soak in the moments with the twins. “He has your nose,” He laughs, smiling when Lara Jean laughs softly from the bed beside him.

Eventually they do let family in, Kitty and Owen arriving sometime later that morning and sitting in the waiting room. They pass around the twins, Dr. Covey asks Lara Jean a million questions, and when she’s dozing off he relents, everyone quietly talking together while Lara Jean gets some much deserved sleep.

“How excited will Emmi be to meet them?” Trina smiles as she holds Carter, glancing over at her son-in-law.

“She’s going to die,” Peter smiles, and for once he doesn’t feel like that’s a stretch by any means. “I feel like she’s been waiting for this day for years.”

Gabe texts Peter that they’re at the hospital, and as they family talks and Lara Jean is awake and talking to everyone again and FaceTiming Margot, he looks sheepishly around the room. “Emmi and Gabe just got here. Do you mind if we have her come in alone so she can meet the babies?”

If anyone has any objections they don’t voice them, immediately agreeing and filing out of the room after giving one last congratulations to Lara Jean and Peter. Lara Jean smiles up at Peter when they’re alone again, reaching out to take Carter from his arms, letting him place Olivia in her other arm.

“Go get her,” Lara Jean whispers against Peter’s lips, kissing him again for good measure.

And so Peter nods, leaving quick kisses on his babies’ foreheads and disappearing out of the room, smiling at Emmi getting the love from their families in the waiting room.

“Are you ready to go meet your siblings?” He asks after a moment, and Emmi nods, reaching out to be carried.

“Mama is very tired and the babies are sleeping so you have to be quiet,” He says softly, walking down the halls of the maternity ward with Emmi in his arms, who now suddenly feels heavier and not at all like the little girl he’d thought she was all these years. “Are you excited?”

“Yes!” Emmi smiles, leaning her head down on his shoulder. “Can I hold them?”

“Of course,” He nods, pausing outside of Lara Jean’s room for a moment before walking back in.

“Hi, baby,” Lara Jean smiles. “Did you have a good day at school?”

Emmi nods, but her eyes are fixed on both babies as Peter gently sets her down on the bed. “They’re so little,” She whispers.

Lara Jean laughs, nodding. “This is Carter, and this is Olivia.”

Emmi nods, reaching out to brush a finger across their faces. “Can I hold one?”

Lara Jean nods, glancing up at Peter as he helps Emmi move so she can squeeze onto the bed beside Lara Jean.

Peter lifts Olivia up and places her in Emmi’s arms, standing just beside the bed and supporting her head. “She looks just like you. Especially when you were just born.”

“She does?” Emmi asks, eyes fixed on her little sister resting in her arms.

Peter hums in affirmation, free hand brushing over Emmi’s curls.

“I love them, Daddy. They’re both so cute,” Emmi smiles, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Olivia’s forehead, her head falling against Lara Jean’s shoulder so she can stare at Carter for a moment.

He smiles up at Lara Jean, a knowing smile that says everything all at once without any words exchanged. There are tears in both of their eyes, and as Lara Jean stares back at him with a smile pulling at her mouth, she composes herself just enough to reach her free hand out for his.

“I love you,” She mouths, squeezing his hand.

“I love you too,” He mouths right back, and as he looks at his family in the hospital bed together, he’s overcome with so many emotions.

They’ve become the Kavinskys, family of five.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the babies are finally here and they have names and everything is perfect! also all my info on labor was from google because i don't have kids let alone twins omg. 
> 
> there will be one-shots incorporating the twins (so you'll get to see more of emmi with them), but i really just wanted to end it on a cute little moment between the family :) 
> 
> i'm starting a new job this week and so updating during the day on tuesdays like i have been could be tricky, so for now i'm going to move updates to sundays! so a week from today you'll get a new one-shot back in the one-shot fic :)
> 
> thank you guys so so much for reading/commenting/leaving kudos! you're all the best i don't deserve it at all <3 <3 <3

**Author's Note:**

> updates will most likely be every other day :) 
> 
> you can follow me on tumblr [here](https://peter-covinskys.tumblr.com/) if you want :)


End file.
